21 ADIYAT RACING PLUS ISSUE 840 Thursday 4th April 2024 DUBAI WORLD CUP adiyat racing plus.com adiyat racing plus.com LAUREL RIVER (PICTURED) OVERCAME STALL 12 USING HIS NATURAL SPEED; HIS SECOND FURLONG OF 10.86s TOOK HIM TO THE FRONT AND HE MAINTAINED THE GALLOP THROUGH AN 11.58s FURLONG AND 11.66s FURLONG. start let alone the 10 lengths he was afforded. The main pack were led by Joao Moreira on Justin Palace and he didn’t react when Buick upped the pace and passed Point Lonsdale. As Buick kicked, the rest stacked up behind Moreira and their race was lost at that point although it can be argued it had already been lost a good deal earlier. Full marks to Buick, but the less said about the other rides here the better. DUBAI WORLD CUP: LAUREL RIVER Any newcomer to racing who wants to understand dirt racing should be shown this race. An example of raw, brazen speed being utilised to take other horses out of their comfort zones before maintaining that advantage once a clear lead has been established. Dirt racing as it should be and thrilling to watch. Laurel River overcame stall 12 using his natural speed; his second furlong of 10.86s took him to the front and he maintained the gallop through an 11.58s furlong and 11.66s furlong. This pace established a clear lead with rider Tadhg O’Shea sitting against him trying to conserve energy. However, Laurel River is quite a free going sort and was a tired horse in the final two furlongs. He came home in 26.09s which equated to an FSP of 93.76%. He was therefore 6.24% slower in the final quarter mile than he had been in the previous mile. That didn’t matter though because his speed had won him the race before he got close to the two furlong pole. The closers, Ushba Tesoro and Senor Buscador, came calling and closed in the final two furlongs but Laurel River had established way too much of an advantage for that to be significant. This was dirt racing at its very best where horses are taken out of their comfort zones with early speed and then asked to stretch that speed as they hit the wall. Laurel River did that and more to dazzle a delighted Meydan crowd.
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