Indian Blessing draws far outside in Shaheen; Gayego, ‘Salsa loom in Godolphin M

Indian Blessing worked sharply on Monday (Dubai Racing Club)

Two-time champion filly INDIAN BLESSING (Indian Charlie) will break from the far
outside post 12 when squaring off
against 11 males in Saturday’s $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-G1),
contested down the about six-furlong straightaway at Nad al Sheba.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Indian Blessing has found her niche sprinting on the
dirt. The dark bay blazed to daylight victories in the Prioress S. (G1), Test S.
(G1) and Gallant Bloom H. (G2), but did not look as potent in her next two
starts on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride. Runner-up to the sensational Ventura (Chester
House) in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, Indian Blessing posted a 1
1/2-length score against her own age group in the La Brea S. (G1) last time out.
Baffert deliberately chose to freshen her up in advance of the Golden Shaheen,
her first assay versus males. With John Velazquez opting to stay in the United
States to ride Quality Road (Elusive Quality) in Saturday’s Florida Derby (G1),
Edgar Prado takes over at the helm.

Her fellow American contenders are BLACK SEVENTEEN (Is It True) (post
6) and MACHISMO
(Trippi) (post 9). Black Seventeen garnered the Vosburgh S. (G1), dethroning the
defending champion Fabulous Strike (Smart Strike), but has not won in three
subsequent races. The Brian Koriner charge was seventh in the Breeders’ Cup
Sprint (G1) and third in both the El Conejo H. (G3) and Mr. Prospector S. (G3).
Regular rider Clinton Potts will be in the saddle.

Gayego (left) goes in the Mile, while Big City Man (right) lines up in the Golden Shaheen (Dubai Racing Club/Andrew Watkins)

Europe’s preeminent dasher, five-time Group 1 hero MARCHAND D’OR (Marchand de
Sable), takes another stab at the Golden Shaheen from post 7. When making his dirt debut in
the 2007 edition, the Freddy Head trainee wound up eighth to Kelly’s Landing.

Adding further international flavor are multiple Japanese stakes winner
BAMBOO ERE (Afleet) (post 11) and Hong Kong’s own all-weather phenom, LUCKY QUALITY
(Elusive Quality) (post 4).

“He’s probably the best dirt track sprinter here in Hong Kong but I
think the
consensus here would be that if he can run well in Dubai it will be a fair
achievement on a sand surface which is much deeper than what he is used to in
Hong Kong,” Hong Kong Jockey Club racing writer and form expert Jeremy
Greene said of Lucky Quality.

Other entrants are the Doug Watson duo of HAMMADI (Red Ransom)
(post 10), coming off a
photo-finish win in the Jebel Ali Sprint, and Nad al Sheba allowance scorer
FORCE FREEZE (Forest Camp) (post 1); CHANGE ALLEY (Elusive Quality) (post 5), fifth to Gayego in
the Mahab al Shimaal; and French Group 2 veteran BALTHAZAAR’S GIFT (Xaar) (post
8),
exiting a turf handicap score.

The Godolphin juggernaut of GAYEGO (Gilded Time) and TWO STEP SALSA (Petionville)
would have been prime contenders in the Golden Shaheen, but they were pitched
into the $2 million Godolphin Mile instead. Both made a big impression in their
debuts under the royal blue silks.

Two Step Salsa was too hot for his foes last time out (Dubai Racing Club/Andrew Watkins)

Gayego, last year’s Arkansas Derby (G2) winner, oozed class when getting up
in time in the Mahab al Shimaal, and the added ground here should prove no
obstacle. Ted Durcan has the return call from post 13.

Only one American has signed on, INFORMED (Tiznow) in post 11, from the Doug O’Neill
barn. A near-miss second to Cowboy Cal (Giant’s Causeway) in the San Pasqual H.
(G2) two back, he was most recently a dead-heat fourth in the San Antonio H.
(G2). Note that the San Antonio runner-up is World Cup hopeful Well Armed (Tiznow).

“I’m very, very optimistic that we have a good chance in the race,”
assistant trainer Leandro Mora said. “When we
beat Well Armed, we knew we could compete with a Grade 1 horse at any place in
the world.”

The hardest part of the race will be getting Informed to the track. Somewhere along the path of his life, Informed
has developed habits that
include rearing,
lunging and jumping when he arrives on to the racetrack in the mornings — and
sometimes even before he leaves his own barn. When handlers put a bridle and
saddle on
Informed, “he tries to run out of the stall,” Mora said.

“He has some kind of a mental problem about it,” Mora explained. “He is the
sweetest horse in the stall otherwise, just very nice.”

The five-year-old has
been so
unruly when dispatched for his morning exercise that O’Neill and
his staff
have had to not only exhibit great patience but also come up with some creative
ways to
keep him under control.