COLUMN 50 ADIYAT RACING PLUS ISSUE 840 Thursday 4th April 2024 adiyat racing plus.com adiyat racing plus.com It took the best three-year-old horse in the world to beat him. It was necessary for Yoshito Yahagi’s undefeated Japanese rising star Forever Young to surface with his every trick as he bid to stop Julio Olascoaga’s Auto Bahn from claiming what would have been a fine success for South America in the Group 2 UAE Derby on the Dubai World Cup undercard. There are defeats that sadden and others that exalt. Auto Bahn’s second place finish in the solitary three-year-old affair on the card belongs to the latter category. I had first encountered Auto Bahn in the barn of his former trainer in Argentina, Roberto Pellegatta, when the Asiatic Boy colt had not yet sampled racecourse action. Pellegatta, however, was confident his trainee was destined for greatness and was well on his way to emulating the feats of his illustrious sire, who won the 2007 running of the UAE Derby by a whopping nine and a half lengths and followed that success by finishing second behind the stunning Curlin in the feature Dubai World Cup a year later. Pellegatta knew Auto Bahn was special after all he knows the fine line separating champions from the good horses. Auto Bahn beat future Grade 1 scorer Dark Love rather comfortably on his debut a year ago at Palermo in Argentina Now 83, Pellegatta had schooled Asiatic Boy during his formative years in Argentina 20 years ago, but when Asiatic Boy won the UAE Derby, his ownership had passed on to Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, which put him under the tutelage of South African Mike de Kock. Pellegatta said: “Auto Bahn was always a quality horse: very tame and quite good. After winning, he remained unraced for many months waiting to travel to Dubai, because they wanted to take him to the United Arab Emirates. I had told the owners that it was a pretty good horse. And now we know everything he did.” Everyone wants to win one of the races on Dubai World Cup night and become a millionaire and when connections don’t have a horse that can help them achieve that quick ambition they look to buy one at the last minute. You just need to have deep pockets and find someone willing to sell you theirs. Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum is said to have received offers for Auto Bahn, but his own ambition to win the Derby was far stronger and he resisted the temptation. Last minute deals don’t always guarantee success. Don’t take my word for it, just ask Avaz Ismailov, who sealed the deal to buy South American Grade One winner Pacholli, thought to be a perfect fit for the G2 Godolphin Mile, but ended up finishing the last of 13 in the race. Sometimes second places are worthy and Auto Bahn might have laid the foundation for next year’s Dubai World Cup. South American trainer Antonio Cintra is firmly of the opinion Auto Bahn could progress into a future Dubai World Cup contender as he said: “He lost to a running machine like Forever Young, but he was fighting all the time!” Asiatic Boy followed up his 2007 UAE Derby win with a second in the 2008 Dubai World Cup, perhaps his son could go the other way. Who knows? Only time! — CAN AUTO BAHN WIN THE WAR AFTER LOSING THE BATTLE? JULIO GUIMARAES Auto Bahn (far side)
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