Dream Ahead has been retired to stud according to SL: http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/...ME=racing/11/10/19/manual_091439.html&BID=464
He was always going to be sent to Ballylinch at the end of the season. Connections had talked very strongly of a crack at Breeders' Cup so I do wonder if the horse has picked up a slight injury.
Well I wish them all the best but I do not expect that they will make much out of Dream Ahead at stud. If they had kept him in training as a four-year-old and targeted the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, they might have made some money and enhanced his reputation sufficiently that he might have attracted some decent mares. His pedigree is uninspiring and his racecourse form is easily torn to pieces. If you are looking to breed an inconsistent soft ground sprinter you might send your mare to him.
Gosh, QuarterMoonII, pretty strong words! The colt ran 9 times and won 6 times, 5 of which were at Group 1 level, distances 6f and 7f, ground conditions anything from G/F to Soft? Hope I got all that right, but IMHO a pretty damn good racehorse. As for breeding, well I must bow to your better knowledge on that, but I hope he does well at stud anyway.
I was a bit sceptical about the animal, but proved himself a pretty good racehorse. Seems that he destined for Australia as well.
QM....I'd agree his pedigree isnt inspiring, but his performances on the track were very good, he contested 8 G1s and won 5 of them. Yes he did run a few shockers, but he won his final 2 races. He has won 2 6f G1s on Good to Firm, he won the Prix De La Foret On good and the Prix Morny on good ground, and he won the Middle Park on soft. So id hardly call him a soft ground sprinter
I don't know too much about his breeding either, but he seems to come from quality sprinting stock. His sire Diktat was European Champion Older Sprinter, while his paternal Grandsire, Cadeaux Genereux was European Champion at both two and three. I could be wrong, but wasn't Diktat's sire Warning, who himself was a a Champion at two and three? He might have ugly blood, but it seems that it's fast, ugly blood.
Well, there ain't much wrong with his breeding then, from a sprinting point of view that is? Would also add that among his Group 1 wins was this year's July Cup at Newmarket, on G/F ground. This race takes some winning, and this year was no exception. A lot of very good sprinters have failed to win this one?
I remember watching his Middle Park performance and thinking that was about as impressive a performance I've seen on the level in some years - of course moving up to a mile and taking on Frankel wasn't the right move but connections weren't to know that then. Shame he's off to stud, would like to have seen him next year when his stamina is likely to have improved, he had the talent and would probably have got closer to Frankel than most have managed.....
Let us conveniently ignore the Prix Maurice De Gheest, when Dream Ahead ran like a drain. He was not beaten in a photo or even a close up second, he was in a different parish. The first half mile of the July Cup was slowly run so that was a two-furlong sprint, although he did win cosily enough from Bated Breath. In the Haydock Sprint Cup he beat Bated Breath in a three-way photo, where the stewards chose to ignore him hanging across upgraded handicapper Hoof It. The idea of “good” ground in France would be “good to soft” here so the Prix Morny will have been on softish ground in reality. I will assume that the stories about Dream Ahead taking on Goldikova in the Breeders’ Cup are Daily Fail fantasies. Cyc, Diktat was such a successful stallion that he now stands in Spain. As is frequently the case, racecourse achievements do not always lead to successful stallions.
Upgraded handicapper The horse who bolted up carrying a truck in the Stewards Cup in one of the most impressive Sprint handicap wins I have seen in a long time. I see no reason to suggest that he couldn't be successful, however I do think its a sad occurance to see him retired so early. (not as early as Lilbourne Lad mind!)
I still don't believe he has tackled Frankel in peak condition, hence he has finished down the field on both occasions, the Dewhurst was to soon after the Middle Park, whilst at Royal Ascot he was making his seasonal debut. The other point I'd like to make is how immature and green he has ran, even this season. Look at his run against Goldikova, he hit the front and then started hanging, he did the same in the Sprint Cup. This tells me he has more potential in the locker if he can sort that out, so he may well have made an even better 4yo, though we will never know now. Let's get this straight aswell, if it wasn't for Frankel he would have been the standout horse from this season and last season's outright top 2yo
Calm down Peter Parker he only beat Tax Free in the Stewards Cup I will use my saying I could beat Tax Free carrying Rick Waller on my back old boy. I agree Hoof it is not a Group 1 performer.
I have this strange feeling that Dream Ahead "done" one, or maybe two, nags in his career, that QMII had had a punt on? He really does not like him?
Age will not make Dream Ahead stay. If he does not get a mile as a three-year-old he will not as a four-year-old. On the most recent International Classifications (September), Dream Ahead was rated 120 – the same as Deacon Blues. He beat 124-rated Goldikova in the Prix De La Forêt so there is nothing sensational about any of his three-year-old performances. Black Caviar would eat him for breakfast and he is currently rated fifteen pounds behind Frankel. The Stewards Cup – a handicap – was won by Hoof It, who then stepped up to pattern races. In what respect is the description “upgraded handicapper” inaccurate? Utter rubbish. There are at least half a dozen European horses listed in the International Classification that are ahead of Dream Ahead. This year’s sprinters were decidedly average.
I just knew his name would come up (quite a tribute to the old warrior considering we're talking about sprinters)..................
QM I actually think you have a fair point in regards his race record, however I do think he is better than you are making out. I would suggest that he is as good a sprinter the UK has had for a good few seasons. Obviously we won't know how good he is compared to the Aussie crack sprinter because he is off to stud.
Swanny, if I had been talking out of my pocket I would have said so but I have never bet on the horse or in any race that it has contested. However, I am able to take an objective look at its form and see that it is not a great horse and the official ratings would appear to suggest that my opinion is shared by a few others who assess horses’ relative merits for a living.
