by K.T. Donovan

Massive Drama will attempt to become only the second horse to win the United Arab Emirates Derby (UAE-G2) after making his final start prior to the 1,800-meter (8.95-furlong) classic race in the United States.

Express Tour closed his juvenile campaign with a win in the In Reality division of the Florida Stallion Series in October 2000 and made his three-year-old debut a memorable one with a victory over Street Cry (Ire) in the UAE Derby. Trainer Dale Romans will attempt to duplicate the feat with Massive Drama, a Kentucky-bred Kafwain colt who enters off a third-place finish in the San Vicente Stakes (G2) on February 10 at Santa Anita Park.

Campaigning Massive Drama against Southern Hemisphere horses six months older has not deterred owner Ahmed Zayat, who wanted to separate his many three-year-olds. The 6,000-mile journey provided plenty of distance.

Zayat transferred his horses out of California after Santa Anita lost 11 days of live racing due to problems with its synthetic surface. Massive Drama ended up with Romans when Zayat moved his horses in mid-February, after Bob Baffert saddled him in the seven-furlong San Vicente.

“Bob sent him to me in good shape, and we talked about his characteristics,” said Romans, who won the 2005 Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) with Roses in May for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey. “He’s very laid-back in his training, and nothing really affects him. He does just what he has to do.”

The laid-back attitude has been on display at Nad al Sheba, but he showed another side on Tuesday morning when he worked an “easy five-eighths” that had him registering each furlong faster than the next. He went the last half-mile in :47, with a furlong in :12.40, followed by an eighth in :11.90, then :11.30, and the final furlong in :11. The colt moved so easily that even Romans was surprised by the times.

Romans wanted to make sure the colt was feeling good and moving well, but he could not have been more pleased when Massive Drama came back with his ears up and nonchalantly jogged to a stop without blowing.

“We wanted to let him see that long stretch, to know what he has to do,” Romans said. “He was fine by the time I was back at the quarantine barn.”

Massive Drama finished third in the CashCall Futurity (G1) at 1 1/16 miles, so distance should not be a concern provided he continues to relax.

“We’re not pushing him, and he was never really going to be a Kentucky Derby [Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)] horse,” Romans said. “He is a good traveler, and so I think he’ll be all right going the [about 1 1/8-mile] distance.”

K.T. Donovan is a Thoroughbred Times contributing writer