Earth Living finishes 2nd in the UAE Oaks

Earth Living produced another valiant effort in Dubai on Thursday evening, February 26, as the Michihiro Ogasa-trained filly came in second in the UAE Oaks, a length and a quarter behind Lanfranco Dettori's Devotee.

Earth Living, who was also runner-up in the UAE 1,000 Guineas on Feb. 6, stayed right on the tail of Devotee for much of the trip until the two pulled away on the home stretch from the remainder of the eight-horse field.

Ridden again by Christophe Lemaire, Earth Living was side by side to Devotee before Dettori's mount came out ahead over the last 50 meters to capture the $250,000 race at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse for 3-year-old fillies.

Ogasa poured the praise on his horse who had just three races under her belt prior to Thursday.

"I asked the jockey to run an aggressive race because we were out for the win this time," Ogasa said on the Japan Racing Association Web site. "For a moment on the straight I thought we had it, but when all was said and done, we took second to a first-place horse that beat us pretty convincingly."

"But I thought our filly gave us everything she had, and we're proud of her for overcoming a number of obstacles to turn in the performance she did tonight. We received a lot of support from a lot of people on this trip, in particular the folks over at the Black Emblem stable, and we can't thank them enough," he added, referring to trainer Shigeyuki Kojima's Shuka Sho champion who raced in the 1,777-meter Balanchine on Feb. 20.

So Shiny, the winner of the 1,600-meter UAE Guineas, set the pace to Devotee's 1 minute, 51.9 second victory over the 1,800 meters, a winning time almost a full five seconds off the race record. Devotee, the Godolphin filly who had finished last in the UAE Guineas, was two lengths off the pace with Earth Living trailing.

When Dettori made his move rounding the final turn, Lemaire followed. The pair would put 11 lengths between them and Sos Brilliante, another Godolphin entry who ended up third ahead of So Shiny.

Ogasa had been confident of Earth Living's form after the UAE 1,000 Guineas, and roaring from behind on the outside, it appeared she would pass Devotee in validating the trainer's faith.

But Devotee found his second wind as Earth Living closed in, and Dettori pumped his fist after crossing the finish line first.

Earth Living, by Yonaguska out of Etoufee and owned by Green Farm, was second to So Shiny by three lengths in the UAE 1,000 Guineas, the first Classic race of the season. Earth Living had run twice in November before touching down in the United Arab Emirates in late January.

* Please visit the following websites for more information.
Dubai Racing Club website: http://www.dubairacingclub.com/
Emirates Racing Authority website: http://www.emiratesracing.com/