SIR BU NAIR ISLAND, SHARJAH // Horses attempting to complete America’s horse racing Triple Crown often face too much pressure to perform in a short space of time, according to Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid.
“At this time of the year, to me the reason is that they are still young to run three times in five weeks,” said Sheikh Hamdan, the UAE Finance Minister and one of the world’s top thoroughbred owners and breeders.
“That is a lot of pressure. To me it is very difficult to see the horse run in top races three times in five weeks.”
Last year, California Chrome joined the long list of three year olds to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes only to miss out on the Triple Crown by failing to win the final, longest test in the Belmont Stakes.
Since Affirmed last completed the testing race series in 1978, 13 Triple Crown hopefuls have come up short in the Belmont.
“Good horses sometimes have so much pressure. Most of them, they break down,” said Sheikh Hamdan, who added that the decision to administer the anti-bleeding drug Lasix, which is legal in the United States but banned in Dubai, could also be a reason why so many horses fail.
“Sometimes the horses do not perform. They force them to perform and they say ‘no’, it is for bleeding,” he said in reference to the use of Lasix.
Sheikh Hamdan said that in his opinion it is much safer to race horses in Europe, where he said they look after horses more than in America.
US racing officials have been heavily criticised in international horse racing circles for allowing their horses to run on various medications, including anti-bleeding diuretics such as Lasix and Salix.
All of the world’s major racing regions, apart from North America, ban the use of these drugs in the belief they unfairly enhance performance and pose health risks to horses. They can also mask the use of other medication.
American Pharoah is another Triple Crown contender that will try to avoid California Chrome’s fate on June 6 after a comfortable seven-length victory in the rain-soaked Preakness Stakes on May 16.
Asked how he saw American Pharoah’s chances to finally break the vicious circle, Sheikh Hamdan said: “When he won the Kentucky (Derby), he hit the front in the last 150 yards. So he might find another gear to complete the Triple Crown.
“But do not forget – it is 37 years since Affirmed.”
Some owners have criticised in the past the practice of some contenders to skip the second leg if they do not succeed in the initial race in Kentucky, which leaves the Triple Crown hopefuls to face fresher rivals in the most testing 2,400-metre run.
Godolphin’s Frosted, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby but did not run in the Preakness, could be such a challenge for American Pharoah.
“He ran in the Kentucky Derby and finished strong, and I expect him to run a good race,” Sheikh Hamdan said, referring to the horse of his brother Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
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