November 4, 1999. Copyright, 1999, Graphic News. All rights reserved

DAYLAMI AIMS FOR WORLD SERIES HAT-TRICK ON RACINGÕS RICHEST DAY
By Midge Todhunter

LONDON, November 4, Graphic News:  ÒIN EUROPE we get tendon trouble Ð in America we get fracturesÓÉ once said Angel Penna, top U.S. trainer of the 1980s who also won two Prix de lÕArc de Triomphe during a seven-year spell in France. The only man to have been at the head of his profession in three continents was concise but clear in his comparisons.
ThereÕs no doubting that dirt racing, as it is known in America, can take its toll on horsesÕ legs. No matter how well activated in its post-race form, the racing surface Ð usually sand mixed with the local loam Ð can never rid itself of its leg-jarring stress factor.
Horses for courses the Americans will say, but thereÕs no getting away from the fact that 75 percent of the thoroughbreds racing in the U.S. do so supported by drugs prohibited in Europe. As yet, it seems, thereÕs no substitute for the sponginess of natural turf.
High humidity in 85 degree heat is another factor against the European horses set to line up at Gulfstream ParkÕs world class three-day BreedersÕ Cup meeting where the central day on Saturday features an unprecedented eight Group 1 races on the 10-race card.
Even with the top purse of $4 million being heralded for the Classic dirt race, the inclusion of GodolphinÕs current superstar Daylami in the $2 million BreedersÕ Cup Turf looks set to place that contest top of the bill.
Top jockey Frankie Dettori will partner Daylami in what could be the brilliant greyÕs swansong. Last seen in OctoberÕs Prix de lÕArc de Triomphe where he floundered in the ultra-heavy ground, Daylami is said to have travelled and settled well in the Florida heat Ð an element he is well accustomed to in the Godolphin winter quarters in Dubai.
But the weather omens are not good. Hurricane Katrina has been gathering all week off the Florida coast, threatening to soak the Gulfstream turf track, which has already had over 20 inches of rain and is now described as soft.
/ENDS

Editors Note: The majority of racetracks in America are dirt with no undulations and little more than a mile in circumference. The tracks are fast with very sharp bends and an early burst of speed is a necessity Ð as races are often won or lost at the first bend.