FRANKIE DETTORI can look forward to riding leading fancy Toast Of New York in the Dubai World Cup after the four-year-old was purchased by Al Shaqab Racing. Toast Of New York will remain in Lambourn with trainer Jamie Osborne but Dettori will take over from Jamie Spencer in the saddle due to his role as Sheikh Joaan Al Thani's retained jockey. The four-year-old has been highly coveted by the major racing operations who compete in Europe and the US from the moment he crossed the line at Santa Anita, where he was beaten a nose by Bayern. His acquisition secures for Sheikh Joaan's team, who also race dual Arc winner Treve, ownership of horses who are world powers on dirt and turf. Although the sale is subject to final checks, Al Shaqab racing manager Harry Herbert on Friday confirmed: "We've bought Toast Of New York and we're very excited to have him as part of the team. "He's a wonderful horse. I saw him for the first time only at the Breeders' Cup and he's a magnificent physical specimen. "He stays with Jamie, and [Al Shaqab's retained jockey] Frankie Dettori will ride him. As we have seen, Jamie has trained the horse brilliantly and he'll head to Dubai for the World Cup." Osborne paid €60,000 for Toast Of New York in October 2012, preparing him to win two Wolverhampton all-weather contests before he burst to international prominence with victory in last year's UAE Derby. Herbert added: "Toast Of New York hasn't many miles on the clock, and races like the Breeders' Cup Classic are very hard. Jamie has allowed him to mature and got him to produce some exceptional performances. "Coming into his four-year-old year, he can hopefully develop and improve further. Physically, he is that sort of stamp of horse. Sheikh Joaan is over the moon to have him as part of the team."
If Toast Of New York had not been touched off in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, he would presumably have been packed off to stud by whichever of Coolmore or Godolphin offered the owner the most money. It will be interesting to see how he does this term as his best results were not on these shores. Good news for Jamie Osborne that the horse is staying with him. The Qatari quest for World domination continues... Soon they will decide that it would be useful to own the World’s largest company (by capitalization), so once they have relocated Apple to Doha, expect your expensive toys to be renamed the qPad, qPod and qPhone. How long before the Olympics is staged in Qatar?
Summer games would be boring - it would have to be the Winter Olympics, specially rescheduled to July (statistically the hottest month with an average temperature of 41.3°C) in order to ensure the maximum amount of: (1) environmental impact (2) deaths of slave labourers (3) headlines for the organisers. Is Sepp Blatter on the decision committee? What? No? Well he bloody well should be.
I’m sure that Mr Henderson will shortly be putting in a call to the horses now ex-owner, and his good pal, Michael Buckley (for whom he trains the likes of Finians Rainbow and Beat That). Maybe the forum’s favourite trainer will be so kind as to even invite him to accompany Mr Henderson to some forthcoming bloodstock sales. Hopefully, Seven Barrows will see a fair chunk of this loot redirected its way.
If I was another Oliver Warbucks and splashed out a **** load for a proven horse, I certainly ****ing claim him as mine. And if I has the cash to build an artificial snow field and alps in the middle of the bloody desert, who'd have the right to stop me?
