More turf in Dullahan's future

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Saratoga Springs, NY (Sports Network) - By winning the Pacific Classic, Dullahan has a guaranteed place in this November's Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita. However, trainer Dale Romans has other plans for the 3-year-old.

"I don't know if we'll run in the (Breeders' Cup) Classic," said Romans. "If it's (my decision), I'll try him on turf next, and decide if he wants to go a mile and a half. Either the Joe Hirsch or the Jamaica would be good, but if we want to get the mile and a half, the Joe Hirsch would be the one. There's (the Presque Isle Mile on synthetic on Sept. 7), but it's only a mile."

Dullahan has experience in turf races as a 2- and 3-year-old. Last year on the turf he was second in a maiden claiming race followed by a third in the With Anticipation Stakes, both at Saratoga.

The colt finished second this past March in the Palm Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

"I'm not going to give up on the dirt; I've got to get him a big win on the dirt somewhere," said Romans. "Maybe at Churchill because he likes that track."

Romans has the $10 million Dubai World Cup as a possible start for Dullahan as a 4-year-old. Meydan Racecourse in Dubai is a synthetic track, a surface on which Dullahan has posted all three career victories.

"I know how to get (to Dubai). I know how to win that one," noted Romans, who won the 2005 Dubai World Cup with Roses in May. "That's a long ways off, but it will be here before you know it. If everything went perfectly, you'd run one time, then Breeders' Cup, a little break, one time, and then over there (in Dubai)."

The Pacific Classic win came after two less than stellar performances versus other 3-year-olds. He was seventh as the 5-2 favorite in the Belmont Stakes and was fifth in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.

"I thought he was going to get a piece of it, but I didn't know if he could run down (Game On Dude)," said Romans. "Anytime a plan comes together, it's good. We do a lot of things that don't work out, so you've got to relish the ones that do. That was a little risky, going against older horses, but he does love synthetic. If you're going to go out there, you might as well go for a big pot and a place where you can run on synthetic."