Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is pointing UAE Triple Crown winner Asiatic Boy to the US$400,000 Suburban Handicap (Gr.2) at Belmont Park on July 4 following his promising American debut in the Stephen Foster Handicap (Gr.1).

“He ran great,” McLaughlin said of the runner-up effort by the six-year-old Argentine-bred at Churchill Downs on June 13. “He had a troubled trip and still ran second. He and Einstein beat each other up a little bit trying to go for the same hole twice.”

Multiple American Grade 1 winner Einstein finished third in the Stephen Foster after the stretch run jostling, which winner Macho Again avoided with a wide rally that carried him to a one-length victory.

Asiatic Boy, who finished second to Curlin in the 2008 Dubai World Cup (Gr.1), continued preparations for the Suburban with a sharp half-mile workout on Friday at Belmont. He was clocked in :47.87 on the training track, a time that ranked second fastest of 30 at the distance on that surface.

So far in his four-year career, Asiatic Boy has won seven of 16 starts and placed six times while earning $3,196,130.

Belmont officials are expecting a field of about seven runners in the Suburban. Asiatic Boy’s toughest competition might come from Grade 2 winner Cool Coal Man, who captured the Lord of the Night Stakes at Belmont on May 30; Grade 2 winner Dry Martini, who has earned $912,406; multiple Grade 3 winner Finallymadeit, who is less than $1,000 shy of the $1-million mark in career earnings; and It’s a Bird, who has won three of five starts this year, including the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic and the Oaklawn Handicap (Gr.2).

Meanwhile, 2008 Dubai Golden Shaheen (Gr.1) winner and American champion sprinter Benny the Bull is set to continue his comeback from last summer’s retirement in the $350,000 Smile Sprint Handicap (Gr.2) at Calder Race Course on July 11. Benny the Bull worked a half-mile at Aqueduct on Friday in a bullet :47.56, fastest of 17 at the distance. In his first start this year, he finished second in the True North Handicap (Gr.2) at Belmont on June 6.

Godolphin is considering three Grade 1 races at Saratoga Race Course for dual UAE classic winner Cocoa Beach’s next start, even though the five-year-old mare finished a disappointing fourth of four in Sunday’s US$65,150 Heatherten Stakes at Belmont Park in her 2009 debut.

Assistant trainer Rick Mettee indicated on Monday that Cocoa Beach, who earned Grade 1 wins in America last year on both dirt and turf, emerged from the race over a sloppy and sealed surface in good condition.

“She seems to be fine, scoped clear, and ate up her breakfast,” Mettee said. “Maybe she needed the race. (Jockey) Ramon (Dominguez) had breezed her the previous week in the mud and said she seemed to be fit enough. She got keen going into a slow pace, which probably didn’t help, and Ramon said she knew she was beat midway through the turn. She was tired.”

Cocoa Beach raced in third early while Nicksappealinglady set the pace through six furlongs in 1:12.11. The official chart of the race states that Cocoa Beach “came up empty” after being roused at the quarter pole.

Phipps Stable’s With Flying Colors, a four-year-old daughter of A.P. Indy out of multiple Grade 1 winner My Flag, won the race to record her first career stakes triumph, with Cocoa Beach finishing about three lengths behind in last.

Mettee pointed to the Go For Wand Handicap (Gr.1) at 1 1/8 miles on dirt on August 2, the Diana Stakes (Gr.1) at 1 1/8 miles on turf on August 1 and the Personal Ensign Stakes (Gr.1) at 1 ¼ miles on dirt on August 30, all at Saratoga, as possible future targets for Cocoa Beach.

In other news related to Godolphin’s horses currently in America, Mettee said that both Grade 1 winner Vineyard Haven, who was fourth in the UAE Two Thousand Guineas, and 2008 American juvenile champion Midshipman are preparing for their returns to racing, although no specific plans have been formulated.

“Vineyard Haven is galloping away,” said Mettee. “He probably should have breezed by now, but the weather is holding things up.”

Meanwhile, Midshipman “has been jogging and is ready to start galloping,” he said. Midshipman incurred a tendon injury in his left front leg while training in Dubai for the American Triple Crown and has not raced this year.

While Dubai Sheema Classic (Gr.1) veteran Obrigado bounced back to the winner’s circle with a victory in Saturday’s US$100,000 Round Table Handicap (Gr.3) at Hollywood Park, multiple Grade 1 winners Kip Deville and Indian Blessing did not fare as well on Sunday.

Last in the early going of the Round Table, Obrigado benefited from a quick early pace set by Plug Me In and rallied four wide to win by 3 ¼ lengths over Porfido, with Zappa 2 ¾ lengths back in third in the five-horse field.

Time for the 1 ¾ miles on firm turf was 2:54.49, less than a second off the course record.

“They were going a little fast for a mile and three quarters—:24 and :48,” said Obrigado’s jockey Joel Rosario. “My horse comes from off the pace and it was perfect for him. I was following Porfido because he was the horse to beat. This horse has been running against some nice horses. This was a lot easier company for him.”

On Sunday at Hollywood, two-time champion Indian Blessing ranged up to second at the top of the stretch but then could not keep up with pace-setting Coco Belle, who went on to win the Desert Stormer Handicap in 1:08.35 for the six furlongs. Second in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (Gr.1) in her first start against males, Indian Blessing finished fourth, 5 ½ lengths behind the winner, in her first start since competing in Dubai. The daughter of Indian Charlie was giving from five to 11 pounds to her six rivals under the handicap conditions.

Jockey Victor Espinoza and trainer Bob Baffert both partly attributed Indian Blessing’s performance—the first time she had not won or placed in 14 career starts—to Hollywood’s synthetic Cushion Track.

“She just wasn’t getting over it like she usually can—it wasn’t her,” Baffert said. “Usually she cruises up there pretty easy and just kicks on. Today at the top of the stretch I could tell he (Espinoza) was out of horse.”

“She was slipping around and really couldn’t handle the track all that well,” Espinoza said. “It was her first time back, but I really think it was more a case of not handling the track. She’s fine and after this race I think we’ll be okay.”

Baffert said he plans to send Indian Blessing to Saratoga Race Course, which has a traditional dirt track, for the summer.

Meanwhile, Kip Deville could not hang on to his early lead in the one-mile Poker Stakes (Gr.3) over a soft turf course at Belmont Park and wound up fourth in his first effort since finishing unplaced in the Dubai Duty Free (Gr.1).

Team Valor International’s Sailor’s Cap, who was fourth in the early going under jockey Alan Garcia, rallied for the victory in 1:36.50, scoring by 1 ¼ lengths over Godolphin’s Tam Lin in the field of five.

“Actually, I thought he dropped back a little bit further than I thought he would,” said winning trainer Jimmy Toner. “We were going to try to sit in the pocket, but the big horse (Kip Deville) looked like he was a little rank today, so it worked out perfect.”

Finding his best stride late in the stretch after a rough-and-tumble running of Saturday’s US$660,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (Gr.1) at Churchill Downs, 2007 UAE Triple Crown winner Asiatic Boy rallied to take second, a length behind winner Macho Again, in his first start in the United States.

Asiatic Boy was gaining on the winner and finished strongly enough to nip multiple Grade 1 winner Einstein—who was seeking to become only the second American-based horse to win Grade 1 events on dirt, turf and synthetic surfaces—by a nose for the runner-up spot. Einstein in turn was only a neck in front of Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) runner Arson Squad and Bullsbay, who dead-heated for fourth.

Ridden by Robby Albarado, who scored five victories on the program, Macho Again clearly benefited from an untroubled trip. Last in the eight-horse field through the first half-mile while Finallymadeit set fractions of :24.13 and :48.13, the four-year-old gray son of Macho Uno swung to the outside and accelerated with no impediments.

But neither Asiatic Boy nor Einstein was so fortunate. With both seemingly ready to uncork serious moves, their riders aimed for the same opening in mid-stretch, but both were shut off, and Asiatic Boy briefly bumped into Einstein.

Jockey Alan Garcia was forced to swing Asiatic Boy to the outside while Julien Leparoux, aboard Einstein, steered his mount to the rail—all while Macho Again sped past both of them and opened enough daylight that he could not be caught. Macho Again crossed the finish line in 1:49.75 for the 1 1/8 miles on a track rated fast.

“The race set up great for us today,” Albarado said. “We had an outside trip and got a clear run. It’s not by design that I wanted to go around that wide, but I just put him in a path where he can run around horses. That’s just where he wants to be. He just prevailed to be the best today.”

“I’m on the horse to beat, so of course they’re trying to beat me,” Leparoux said. “I had nowhere to go; I just had to wait. … He was probably the best horse, but that’s horse racing. Sometimes you get a tough trip and that’s that.”

Asiatic Boy raced for the first time on the anti-bleeder mediation Lasix, which new trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said could help him, based on what previous conditioner Mike de Kock had advised. McLaughlin’s brother and assistant, Neal, saddled Asiatic Boy at Churchill Downs.

Second in the Stephen Foster was worth $128,040 to Asiatic Boy’s owner, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum.

Macho Again improved his record to six wins and four seconds in 18 starts, and the $396,924 first-place prize boosted his career earnings to $1,475,247. Prior the Grade 1 win in the Foster, Macho Again was a multiple Grade 2 winner.

Trainer Doug O’Neill probably was hoping that Informed, a five-year-old son of Tiznow who has been a tough character to manage, would reach his potential in the US$1 million Godolphin Mile (Gr.2).

While Informed finished seventh at Nad al Sheba, he justified the trainer’s expectation that he is competitive at the graded/group stakes level when he closed from a stalking position in fourth to catch favored Rail Trip in Saturday’s $250,000 Californian Stakes (Gr.2) at Hollywood Park.

The victory marked a complete turnaround for Informed, a $500,000 yearling who O’Neill plucked out of a claiming race last year for only $25,000. He had never previously won a stakes race.

“He’s an extremely talented horse but he has been a little bit inconsistent," O'Neill said. "This race was definitely something we were trying out and shooting for the stars type of thing.”

Informed, whose winning margin was three-quarters of a length, covered the 1 1/8 miles over the Cushion Track in 1:48.37. Rail Trip held a head advantage over Dakota Phone for the place spot in the ten-horse field.

“This is a horse with a big heart," said winning jockey Tyler Baze. "He has got that one three-eighths-mile run. I knew if I could time it right, not move him too early or too late, I could get him there. Even before Dubai, I told (assistant trainer) Leandro (Mora) and Doug, ‘I should be on this horse, I can win with him.' I watched his replays several times and I finally got the opportunity to ride him today. I never even worked him before today. It was like a puzzle. We put the pieces together and it all worked out."

The Californian victory was the fifth in Informed’s 20-race career, and the $150,000 winner’s share of the purse boosted his career earnings to $356,339. Informed is owned by Mark Verge, Josh Kaplan, Glenn Sorgenstein and Russ Sarno.

Multiple Grade 1-winning American stars Kip Deville and Indian Blessing have been entered for their first races since competing on the Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) program, when the former was unplaced in the Dubai Duty Free (Gr.1) while the latter finished a valiant second in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (Gr.1), which was her first start against males.

Both runners will carry high weight in their respective fields, the Poker Stakes (Gr.3) at one mile on the Belmont Park turf for Kip Deville and the Desert Stormer Handicap at six furlongs on Hollywood Park’s Cushion Track for Indian Blessing.

“He absolutely loves being a racehorse,” trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said of Kip Deville, who won the 2008 edition of the Poker. “Last year was a breathtaking performance, and we are all very excited about his chances.”

Kip Deville, who will carry 123 pounds and give from five to seven pounds to his five rivals, has won 12 of 28 career starts and earned more than US$3.3 million. Regular rider Cornelio Velasquez will be in the irons when the six-year-old gray son of Kipling breaks from the outside post.

Among the top challengers will be Godolphin’s Tam Lin, a six-year-old Selkirk gelding who finished second to Kip Deville in the 2008 Poker. Although unplaced in two races in Dubai this winter, Tam Lin finished second in the Fort Marcy Stakes (Gr.3) on May 2. Last year, Tam Lin won the Kelso Handicap (Gr.2) at Belmont.

Javier Castellano will be aboard Tam Lin, who has been assigned 118 pounds and the three post.

Meanwhile, across the United States in California, Indian Blessing will be asked to shoulder 124 pounds and take on seven challengers. America’s champion juvenile filly in 2007 and the champion female sprinter last year, Indian Blessing will give from five to 11 pounds to her competition.

Trainer Bob Baffert, who scrapped plans to run Indian Blessing at Churchill Downs in May when she did not seem to be at her best, said the daughter of Indian Charlie “looks good now.” Victor Espinoza will ride the filly, who has earned more than $2.8 million, and they will break from the seven post.

Baffert indicated that the Desert Stormer will serve as a prep to see how Indian Blessing handles the Cushion Track prior to a possible start in the seven-furlong A Gleam Handicap (Gr.2) at Hollywood on July 18.

Stakes winners Foxy Danseur and Coco Belle appear to be Indian Blessing’s main competition in the Desert Stormer.

Two jockeys who have earned the gold whip for riding a winner of the Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) will soon embark on new stages of their careers.

Aaron Gryder, who steered this year’s World Cup winner Well Armed to his record 14-length triumph, will head to Hong Kong to ride for two weeks beginning on June 21 at Sha Tin. He will compete on two other programs at that track and on the July 1 card at Happy Valley Racecourse.

An invitation to ride in Hong Kong was extended to Gryder after he scored with Well Armed in Dubai.

"It's an honor to be invited and recognized for the World Cup," said Gryder, who has not ridden before in Hong Kong but who looks forward to the opportunity. "They run the opposite direction there (from the way American racing is conducted), which I have always wanted to do."

Meanwhile, Fernando Jara—who seized fame while still a teenager when he rode Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Jazil to victory in the 2006 Belmont Stakes (Gr.1) and later captured the Breeders’ Cup Classic (Gr.1) and the ’07 Dubai World Cup with the sheikh's Invasor, will begin riding at Arlington Park in the Chicago area.

Jara, now 21, finished the 2008-’09 season as the leading jockey in Dubai with 24 wins, two more than the number logged by both William Buick and Richard Hills. His patron, Sheikh Hamdan, was the leading owner, while trainer Doug Watson, for whom he rode, ranked first among conditioners.

Meydan has announced January 28, 2010 as the date that global racing enters an exciting new era with the first meeting to be staged at Meydan.

The first meeting will coincide with the start of the 2010 Dubai International Racing Carnival and feature the opening round of the Group 3 Al Maktoum Challenge for thoroughbreds and Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge for Purebred Arabians.

Commenting on the announcement, the Chairman of Meydan, Mr. Saeed Humaid Al Tayer said, “It is with great pleasure and excitement that we announce the first meeting to be held at Meydan will be on January 28, 2010.”

“The racing facilities will be ready by October 31st this year,” Mr. Al Tayer added.

“By having it ready on October 31st, all horsemen, whether they are Dubai-based or visitors from abroad will have time to familiarize themselves with the facility to ensure they are prepared to compete to the highest standard when racing begins in January.”

“Meydan was introduced to the world on the eve of the Dubai World Cup in 2007 and to have it ready for racing in January 2010 is a remarkable achievement.”

“Horse racing around the world is showcased at great racecourses with wonderful histories and traditions, but with Meydan we believe we are taking the sport to a new level and into a new era.”

Meydan will encompass two tracks, a 1,750m all-weather surface inside a 2,400m turf course, while its Grandstand is unprecedented in the world of horse racing; accommodating 60,000 people and including a five-star hotel, marina, IMAX cinema, six haute cuisine restaurants and a museum.

“The opening of Meydan will be a defining moment in the sport's global history. Unparalleled levels of luxury, customer comfort and racing technology will be combined to create the ultimate horseracing experience,” Mr. Al Tayer said.

"We wanted to develop a world-class facility and I cannot think of any other racecourse in the world that will rival it.”

"As we are setting the benchmark in terms of world-class facilities, we want to complement that with increased prize-money of US$10 million, to continue to entice the best horses in the world for the 2010 Dubai World Cup.”

Derived from an Arabic word meaning „where people congregate and race‟, Meydan takes over from Nad Al Sheba which was Dubai‟s centre of racing from November 13, 1992 until the 2009 Dubai World Cup held earlier this year.

“Nad Al Sheba has had a proud history of racing in Dubai and that will continue with Meydan,” Mr. Al Tayer said, "But Meydan is not just for UAE, it's for the whole world."

The opening round of the Al Maktoum Challenge has been the traditional starting point for the Dubai International Racing Carnival and the first Carnival to be held at Meydan will again close with the Super Thursday meeting on March 4, 2010.

The first staging of the Dubai World Cup at Meydan will be on Saturday, March 27, 2010.

“To build such a facility and have minimal interruption to our racing has been phenomenal,” said Mr. Frank Gabriel Jr., CEO of the Dubai Racing Club.

“The Dubai International Racing Carnival will be held as usual in 2010 and while its growth has been evident throughout its six year existence, we are expecting unprecedented numbers next year.”

UAE Triple Crown winner Asiatic Boy and Grade 2 winner Arson Squad, both of whom were impeded in the Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) and subsequently finished unplaced, will try to rebound in Saturday’s US$600,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (Gr.1) over 1 1/8 miles at Churchill Downs.

Asiatic Boy drew the seven post in the eight-horse field and will be ridden by Alan Garcia, while Arson Squad will break from the four post under the direction of Eclipse Award-winning jockey Garrett Gomez.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Einstein, who is aiming to become only the second American-based runner to win elite races on turf, dirt and synthetic surfaces, is the early Foster favorite, with Asiatic Boy and Arson Squad also highly regarded. Einstein won the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (Gr.1) at Churchill on May 2.

Asiatic Boy and Arson Squad were hampered early in the Dubai World Cup by Japanese runner Casino Drive, who was drifting in, and both lost ground after being steadied. Arson Squad particularly had to be checked hard to avoid a collision and finished 11th, while Asiatic Boy was 12th. Neither has raced since then.

"I don't know how he didn't go down," Samantha Siegel, who owns Arson Squad with her father, Mace, under their Jay Em Ess Stable banner, told Daily Racing Form. "It was a shame to go halfway around the world and have that happen. He's such an honest, hard-trying horse."

Asiatic Boy will be making his first American start and his first for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who is overseeing Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum’s star in the United States for colleague Mike de Kock. McLaughlin will run Asiatic Boy on anti-bleeding medication for the first time.

Meanwhile, on America’s West Coast, Godolphin Mile (Gr.2) entrant Informed will face 11 rivals in the $250,000 Californian Stakes (Gr.2) over 1 1/8 miles at Hollywood Park. Among others in the field are Grade 1 winner Mast Track and Grade 2 victors Awesome Gem and Ball Four.

Informed finished a strong fourth in the Alysheba Stakes (Gr.3) at Churchill Downs on May 1, which marked his first race since the Godolphin Mile.

Godolphin’s UAE Derby (Gr.2) winner Regal Ransom, who was one of the early favorites for Saturday’s Woody Stephens Stakes (Gr.2) at Belmont Park, developed swelling in his right hock that caused him to be scratched from the race.

The son of Distorted Humor likely will miss the remaining targets for three-year-olds this summer but could be back to the track by sometime in the fall, according to assistant trainer Rick Mettee.

"Sometimes they cool out quickly, but generally you're talking about some time off," Mettee told Daily Racing Form of the condition, referred to as a curb. "It's a soft tissue injury. It's not as serious as a bowed tendon. They do come back and usually are the same horse."

Sent to the United States after his UAE Derby victory, Regal Ransom finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby (Gr.1) after prompting the early pace. His stablemate, Desert Party, who was second in the UAE Derby and 14th in the Kentucky Derby, emerged from the latter race with a bone chip in his left front ankle and is now recovering from surgery.

Regal Ransom has won or placed in four of six starts and has earned US$1,297,200. In his absence, Coolmore’s Munnings won the Woody Stephens by 5 ¼ lengths over Darley’s Everyday Heroes in the blistering time of 1:20.63 for the seven furlongs.