Motorious under consideration for trip to Dubai

Motorious, winner of the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap for turf sprinters at Del Mar the last three summers, is under consideration for the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai on March 28.

“Dubai is on the table,” trainer Phil D’Amato said earlier this week. “I’ll take a strong look at Dubai if he’s training well.”

The $1.5 million Al Quoz Sprint is run at six furlongs on a straightaway course.

Owned by Tony Fanticola, Motorious has won six stakes in a 25-race career that includes 10 overall wins and earnings of $988,104.

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Motorious was second by a neck at 12-1 in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar, but fifth in the same race as the 7-2 favorite last November. Motorious finished seventh of 10 in the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita in his last start on Dec. 29, a race he won in December 2024.

A closer, Motorious chased a rapid pace in the recent Hernandez Stakes, including an opening half-mile in 42.82 seconds, before losing by 5 1/2 lengths.

“I’ll draw a line through that last one,” D’Amato said. “I could point to a lot of things. The one thing that strikes me is that he was so close to the pace and they were going blisteringly fast.

“I don’t think he ran to his true style.”

Motorious worked a half-mile in 49.40 seconds on the infield training track at Santa Anita on Monday.

If Motorious is sent to Dubai, he will attempt to become the first American-based winner of the Al Quoz Sprint since Extravagant Kid won for trainer Brendan Walsh in 2021.

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