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international racing, international thoroughbred, parity among breeding nations, racing in dubai, world cup day
Watching the results from World Cup Day at Meydan, the most consistent result is the degree that success was spread around the world for breeders, as well as for owners.
Winners bred in the US (Kinsale King, Golden Shaheen), GB (Dar Re Mi, Sheema Classic; Al Shemali, Duty Free), Ire (Calming Influence, Godolphin Mile), Aus (Musir, UAE Derby), NZ (Joy and Fun, Al Quoz Sprint), and Brz (Gloria de Campeao, World Cup) spread the glory far and wide around the globe.
Although there weren’t enough races to give every major breeding country a sensible chance at producing a winner, many others added to their totals with seconds or thirds, including Japan and South Africa. Although notably absent among the big prizes, France and Germany also probably race least over top of the ground conditions, with their stock tending to go the other way in preferring a bit of cut.
There did not appear to be much of that at Meydan, although the general reviews were immensely positive about the new track and its surface.
The conclusion any reasonable observer can draw is that five decades of increasingly international diversity in racing and breeding have produced an international breed. It is not one Thoroughbred that will perform equally in all conditions, over all distances, in all jurisdictions, however. Instead, it is a Thoroughbred that is almost shockingly equivalent when the better stock are raced against one another over their preferred surface, distance, course, and conditions.
The results from this day of racing (and many similar over the past decade or so) would suggest that the average quality of the breed has probably never been higher. The stinging corollary to that conclusion, however, is that it is increasingly difficult to produce the single horse capable of being the best and beating the rest over many surfaces, distances, courses, and a variety of conditions.