Chicago Sun-Times: Their quest? To be best

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--As a called shot, it is as though Babe Ruth had flown out to deep center ... near the quarter pole at Churchill Downs.

Three springs ago, after watching his Worldly Manner loom boldly late in the 1999 Kentucky Derby, only to fade to seventh behind Charismatic, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Godolphin Racing proclaimed: "We will win the Derby within four years."

It is Year 4 now. And the garland of roses that annually accentuates the Derby winner's bluegrass coronation has yet to be stowed for transport to the 1,500-square-mile sheikhdom of Dubai 12,000 miles away.

Not that 53-year-old al-Maktoum and his three brothers--Maktoum, 61, Hamdan, 59, and Ahmed, 50--haven't kept trying. Besides continuing to buy up thoroughbreds worldwide at a fire-sale clip-- more than $1 billion spent since 1981--the siblings and their Godolphin operation also have kept the first Saturday in May circled for their old Kentucky goal.

"There are many races in the world," said Saeed bin Suroor, the former Dubai police officer who has been Godolphin's leading international trainer since 1995. "But this is the one we want. We keep it in our minds all the time. Maybe it is not on the top of the list of all the races in the world, but it is the one we always think to win. And I can say, as our experiences have proven, it is one of the most difficult races in the world."

Their hopeful this year is Essence of Dubai. As usual in all things Godolphin, he is something of a mystery entrant to American observers. The colt's breeding is impeccable, sired by Pulpit out of 1987 Breeders' Cup winner Epitome. But his pedestrian 1:28.4 seven- furlong drill at Churchill Downs on Thursday left critics asking: Is this just another high-priced al-Maktoum Derby fizzler?

Essence of Dubai was a $2.3 million yearling purchase who broke his maiden at first asking under the guidance of Eoin Harty last July at Hollywood Park. He then won the Grade II Norfolk in his third career try two months later at Santa Anita.

But in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last October at Belmont, the robust 2-year-old moved too vigorously toward the hot early pace of the odds-on Officer.

"Foolishly so," Harty later said.

When the true running came, Essence of Dubai was a fading footnote as Johannesburg rolled to victory. The Godolphin standard-bearer finished 12th and last.

After that, it was back to Dubai for a long, hot winter. The colt emerged from hibernation impressively--on a Dubai scale--by winning the United Arab Emirates 2000 Guineas at the al-Maktoums' Nad al Sheba in late February.

Three weeks later, in a performance that made even the most cynical Kentucky Derby forecasters take notice, Essence of Dubai rolled to victory in the $2 million UAE Derby at Nad al Sheba. Emphasizing the score was the fact that Sheikh Mohammed had added an extra eighth of a mile to his Derby, making it the only Kentucky Derby prep race in the world run at the true Kentucky classic distance of 11/4 miles.

"Yes, that can be perceived as a dual-edged move," said Steve Haskin of the Blood-Horse. "But there is only one horse in Louisville preparing for the Kentucky Derby of whom it can be certifiably said that he has gotten the mile and a quarter on the dirt, and that's Essence of Dubai."

The al-Maktoums have expanded their Derby visions and methods since brothers Maktoum and Mohammed first arrived in Louisville to contest the American classic. That was 10 years ago, four years before the family would band together to form Godolphin.

In the 1992 renewal, Mohammed's Arazi--owned in partnership with late aerospace magnate Allen Paulson--would be sent off as the 4-5 favorite, only to be hung eight-wide in the final turn and stagger home eighth. Brother Maktoum's Thyer, part of the mutuel field, never got closer than 10th in the 18-horse affair and loped in 13th.

But the hook was landed. That would prove to be fantastic news for Kentucky breeders, who view the al-Maktoums the way Vegas casinos welcome auto-piloted blackjack whales. But it also would be the seminal moment of a phenomenal transcultural challenge that continues to daunt the family to this day.

"The Kentucky Derby is a more difficult race to win than I first believed," Sheikh Mohammed told author Jason Levin in the comprehensive new book From the Desert to the Derby. "But it doesn't matter that we first haven't won because we'll keep coming back until we do."

After setting the table for European successes and expanding their Dubai track and training facilities, the al-Maktoums made their first foray back toward the Kentucky Derby during the winter of 1998-99. Then, in a move that surprised some in the American racing aristocracy, they purchased Worldly Manner from California breeders John and Betty Mabee for $5 million.

But Worldly Manner quit after a mile in the 1999 Derby. One year later, Godolphin's brothers watched as China Visit (sixth) and Curule (seventh) stayed in the Louisville chorus line.

Last year, even after hiring Harty away from silver-maned Derby golden boy Bob Baffert to oversee their American-based 2-year-olds- in-training, the al-Maktoums experienced more tantalizing frustration. Their Express Tour angled out strongly for the drive, trailing only Congaree and the vaunted Point Given with a quarter- mile to go. But the last thing the dueling trio would see was a galloping gray named Monarchos blow on by en route to the Derby victory.

But this time, bin Suroor says, "I am telling you that Essence of Dubai is the best we have yet to send. He is our best. He will be heard from in this Derby."

And even if he's not, as Sheikh Mohammed told Levin at Longchamps last fall: "We are only 5 percent of where we will eventually be. We will win the Derby, praise be to Allah, but I will no longer say when it will happen."

Sure, Babe Ruth didn't have that kind of divine reload. But then the Bambino didn't have the al-Maktoums' bankroll, either.

GODOLPHIN IN THE DERBY

A look at how horses from Godolphin Racing have fared at the Kentucky Derby. Starters indicates the number of horses that were in the field.

Starters/After

Year Horse Jockey Odds 1 Mile/Finish

2002 Essence of Dubai David Flores

2001 Express Tour David Flores 18-1 17/3rd/8th

2001 Street Cry--scratched

2000 e-China Visit Frankie Dettori 23-1 19/7th/6th

2000 e-Curule Marlon St. Julien 23-1 19/9th/7th

1999 Worldly Manner Jerry Bailey 14-1 19/2nd/7th

1999 Aljabr--scratched

e-Coupled as entry under existing Kentucky racing law

Note: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Godolphin started Arazi in partnership with Allen Paulson in the 1992 Derby and ran eighth. Sheikh Maktoum al-Maktoum ran Thyer in the same Derby under his own name and finished 13th.