Flashback | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Dubai World Cup meeting celebrates its historic 25th anniversary on March 27, with six Group 1 races and three Group 2s, including one of the world's premier races, the $12 million Dubai World Cup, sponsored by Emirates Airline.

Over the next three weeks, the Dubai Racing Club will pay tribute to each of the previous Dubai World Cup winners. Today, we rewind to 2004 when Pleasantly Perfect won the Dubai World Cup in thrilling fashion.

Such was the reputation that arrived with Pleasantly Perfect and Medaglia D'Oro that not even the previous year's UAE Derby winner and Al Maktoum Challenge champion Victory Moon, nor the Japan Cup Dirt winner Fleetstreet Dancer or Japan's finest dirt runner, Admire Don, could garner much support when opinions were sought as to the likely winner of the Dubai World Cup.

Pleasantly Perfect and fierce rival Medaglia D'Oro were different, and many were expecting them to repeat their battle of four months previously in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita, some going further and predicting that the former would emulate inaugural winner Cigar and follow his Breeders' Cup win with a Dubai World Cup success.

Pre-event predictions of match races and classic encounters hardly ever come to fruition, however this would be different. As strong a field as was assembled for this Dubai World Cup, Victory Moon, Fleetstreet Dancer, Admire Don and seven others would be relegated to just bit players as Pleasantly Perfect and Medaglia D'Oro made Nad Al Sheba the venue for some scores to be settled from Santa Anita.

Jerry Bailey, rider of Medaglia D'Oro, decided to make his move shortly after turning into the long Nad Al Sheba straight and for a few strides it appeared the horse could carry him to Dubai World Cup success number four. Bailey, however, didn't need to glance over his right shoulder to discover who was within his shadows, his nemesis from Santa Anita was right there and ready to challenge.

Such is the size of Pleasantly Perfect that he doesn't appear to quicken, merely lengthen his giant stride, and as he did, so he drew alongside Medaglia D'Oro at the 400m. Further back Victory Moon was beginning to make some ground, however all attention was with the leading two. They drew away from the chasing pack and as hard as Medaglia D'Oro tried to come back, Pleasantly Perfect was too big, too strong, on an evening where both would receive the plaudits.

Nad Al Sheba erupted as Pleasantly Perfect and Alex Solis eventually drew clear to win by just under a length, however as good as the win was, their appreciation was also for the brave second placegetter. Victory Moon was far from disgraced in finishing third five lengths away, himself a long way in front of the fourth, Grand Hombre, the horse entrusted by Godolphin to give them a hat-trick of Dubai World Cup successes.

However, with Pleasantly Perfect and Medaglia D'Oro it was always going to be a tough assignment. For Richard Mandella it was the breakthrough he so eagerly sought. This was an event where two top class horses proved themselves superior to their rivals with the winner arguably just that little bit better than the second.

Pleasantly Perfect finished his career winning nine of eighteen starts, with earnings close to a record US$8 million.

The post Flashback: Pleasantly Perfect Denies Medaglia D’Oro In 2004 Dubai World Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Korean stallion ranks will gain a pair of notable members from America's Mid-Atlantic region in 2021, with the recent import of Flashback and Dortmund.

According to records kept by the Korea Racing Authority, the stallions arrived in the country on Jan. 19.

Flashback, an 11-year-old son of Tapit, previously stood at Diamond B Farms in Pennsylvania after beginning his stud career at Hill 'n' Dale Farms in Kentucky.

He is best known as the sire of British Idiom, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2019, who secured the Eclipse Award off a campaign that included victories in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes.

Flashback has sired four crops of racing age, with 88 winners and combined progeny earnings of more than $5.4 million. Beyond British Idiom, his most successful runners include Grade 1-placed Boujie Girl, Grade 3-placed Tripwire, and stakes winner Richiesgotgame.

Flashback won two of seven starts during his racing career, earning $405,730 highlighted by a victory in the G2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes. His three additional graded stakes placings include a runner-up effort in the G1 Santa Anita Derby.

Bred in Kentucky by William Andrade M.D. and Michael Hernon, Flashback is out of the Mr. Greeley mare Rhumb Line, making him a full-brother to Grade 1 winner Zazu.

Dortmund, a 9-year-old son of Big Brown previously stood at Bonita Farm in Maryland, where he entered stud in 2018. His first foals will be 2-year-olds of 2021.

One of the top runners of his crop, Dortmund won eight of 16 starts for earnings of $1,987,505. He entered the 2015 Kentucky Derby unbeaten in his first six starts, which included the G1 Santa Anita Derby and Los Alamitos Futurity, the G2 San Felipe Stakes, and the G3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes.

Dortmund left the gate in the Kentucky Derby as the betting public's second choice, and he finished third behind eventual winner American Pharoah. He then finished fourth behind the eventual Triple Crown winner in the Preakness Stakes before getting some time off for the rest of the summer. The colt finished the seasons with wins in the non-graded Big Bear Stakes and the G3 Native Diver Stakes.

Dortmund was never able to capture the same spark in later campaigns, though he hit the board in three graded stakes at age four, including the G1 Pacific Classic and Awesome Again Stakes, before finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Park.

Bred in Kentucky by Emilie Fojan, Dortmund is out of the stakes-winning Tale of the Cat mare Our Josephina.

Flashback and Dortmund will join multiple Grade 2 winner Race Day, also a son of Tapit, among Korea's incoming stallions of 2021 with prior experience standing in the U.S. Race Day arrived in the country in December.

The post Flashback, Dortmund Sold To Stand In Korea appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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