Rain, Rain and More Rain!

RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAIN! 
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain…and then once in a while it veers off course and dumps a couple of million gallons in Dubai. Yes, it does rain in the desert, granted not often, but when it does, it rains properly. Water spraying in all directions as the big jumbo’s wheels touched down on the tarmac, shortly after midnight, spelt disaster. 
Dubai is a town built on shifting desert sands, its roads (and its runways) were designed without the benefit of drains and hence are not equipped to cope when the heavens open. What has actually been no more than a steady downpour for a couple of hours has turned most of the highways into lakes, causing accidents aplenty and major traffic jams. While at Meydan, the track work media were frantically trying to figure out how to fit 60 odd people under a canopy designed for ten, that also has to keep the morning coffee and pastries dry. 
Apparently Ron The Greek (Full Mandate), the Saudi Arabian World Cup contender, worked at 4 a.m., but in the dark and with the rain falling in sheets, few saw him go by. With the light improving marginally at 5.30 a.m., it was the turn of the Japanese runners, led by the Kunihide Matsuda trained Belshazzar (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), to make an appearance. It was Belshazzar’s first gallop on the Tapeta, but apart from sounding rather noisy, there is actually little to report as he briefly appeared and then promptly disappeared into the rainy gloom. 
With the rain getting heavier by the minute, it was left to the three Irish horses to show the rest how it is done. Trained by Michael Halford in County Kildare, Dabadiyan (Ire) (Zamindar), Eastern Rules (Ire) (Golden Snake) and Certerach (Ire) (Halling) must have felt right at home as they did a steady canter around the track. Halford commented that he is happy with all three and that they would be “having a blow” on Thursday. 
Corrine Barande-Barbe was on hand to greet her star galloper Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) (Even Top {Ire}), who had cleared quarantine the day before, but not before coaching her assistant Jean-Jaques Poincelet in the art of putting on rain trousers. Cirrus Des Aigles did a half pace workout, hard held and with his rider’s feet firmly on the dashboard. He certainly looked very fit and should be a strong contender in the Dubai Sheema Classic. 
A fellow Dubai Sheema Classic entrant, Mount Athos (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), also braved the rain, appearing amidst a sea of umbrellas. Mount Athos walked and trotted round once before being allowed to stretch out in the home straight on his second lap. Marco Botti’s wife Lucia, who was in the saddle, was well pleased with the gelding’s performance, commenting that he is super fit and only needed a short workout. 
Red Cadeaux (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}), who ran a courageous World Cup race last year when chasing Animal Kingdom home, wisely waited until the downpour steadied to a trickle before appearing on the all-weather. The gelding is not as young as he once was and trainer Ed Dunlop freely admits that Red Cadeaux prefers the warmer climates these days. This was very evident in Singapore last year, when he flatly refused to leave his stable on a particularly wet day. There were, however, no such problems yesterday, and Red Cadeaux looked a picture as he blazed around the track under Stephen Nicholls, ears pricked. From experience, a happy Red Cadeaux is a lethal Red Cadeaux, so discount him at your peril come the World Cup. 
With press conference moderator Rupert Bell having solved the problem of staying dry by appearing in a fetching white plastic bag, John Moore’s Hong Kong trio finally made their appearance. Sterling City (Aus) (Nadeem {Aus}) andDominant (Ire) (Cacique {Ire}) were both model citizens, turning a blind eye to the antics of one of the World Cup favorites, Military Attack (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}). Moore decided to give his runners an extra day in the quarantine area and hence it was Military Attack’s first visit to the main track. The gelding was clearly very well within himself as he fly-leaped and bucked his way down the track under Moore’s son George, who had been commandeered to make up the riding numbers. Moore junior, however, had no problems sitting the gelding’s antics and once out on the course proper, he steered Military Attack round at a steady canter. 
Moore was very pleased with the workout and if the gelding has regained the form that saw him win the G1 QE II and the G1 Singapore Cup in such a devastating fashion, he could well return the victor come Saturday. Yet having done all his racing bar his first start on turf, there is a slight query as to how he will handle the Tapeta. Time will tell, and hopefully time will also help the rain to move back to Spain, although looking out the window that seems decidedly unlikely.