Book'em Danno won't ship to Dubai, may try Boston at Colonial instead
?q=100)
Derek Ryan was all but set on sending Book’em Danno overseas to make his 5-year-old debut in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse on March 28, but the trainer is one of many who are preparing to shift away from those plans this month.
As the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran puts the entire Dubai World Cup event in jeopardy, Ryan is now loosely considering shipping to Colonial Downs for the $150,000 Boston Handicap on March 14 instead.
“We had planned on going to Dubai, but that's out of the question now,” Ryan said. “Everything had been done. All the arrangements were being made and, all of a sudden, we had to pull the plug.”
As of Tuesday, the trainer said he was still noncommittal about the Boston. The decision to ship to Virginia may come down to how much weight Book’em Danno is assigned. The gelding has been in training at Tampa Bay Downs since early February, and though Ryan has reported excellent progress, he does not want to burden the horse with too much weight off the bench.
“It depends on what kind of weight they want to give him because it's a handicap,” Ryan said. “If they give him too much weight, we’re not going. We’ll just play it by ear and see what happens.”
If Book’em Danno does not return to Colonial in mid-March, Ryan may wait until early April to try a graded stakes. Last month, the trainer told DRF’s David Grening that he was considering two races on April 4 – the Grade 3, $350,000 Commonwealth at Keeneland and the Grade 2, $300,000 Carter at Aqueduct.
Last year, the Boston field was chopped down from 11 horses to three after scratches, partially due to Book’em Danno’s involvement. He carried 125 pounds and won the seven-furlong sprint by 2 1/2 lengths in near-track-record time. The New Jersey-bred went on to win three of his next four starts, all graded stakes, and was named the Eclipse champion male sprinter. He has not run since winning the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga last August.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.