Like bettors, American trainers want dirt surfaces because it is perhaps the only way they will compete with their European counterparts.
It is bad enough that John Gosden and Aidan O'Brien sent Raven's Pass and Henrythenavigator to America to finish 1-2, beating the American darling Curlin in the Breeders' Cup Classic two years ago, but when the Marco Botti-trained Gitano Hernando - who had only won a listed race - went over to Santa Anita and won the Grade 1 Goodwood ($500,000) last year, there was an uproar.
Want more proof that the American horses are not great?
This year's Kentucky Derby winner had the lowest Beyer Speed figure for 20 years, likewise the Belmont winner, which was also the slowest run the New York track for a long time. It is 20 years since an American-trained horse won the Japan Cup and 17 years since they won a turf race on Dubai World Cup night.
what a silly article. If the writer of this article thinks American trainers are scratching their heads, wondering and worrying about European horses, they don't understand anything about America or American horse racing. America is its own little world.
There are great horses in UK, France, Australia, America, etc...American horses have been bred for dirt for 100 years and that's that. The US has the best dirt horses, while France, Ireland, Australia and England have the best turf/poly horses.
Poly horses dominated at Santa Anita, dirt horses dominated at Churchill.
what a silly article. If the writer of this article thinks American trainers are scratching their heads, wondering and worrying about European horses, they don't understand anything about America or American horse racing. America is its own little