That’s how trainer Leandro Mora described Lava Man in Dubai. He’s notoriously not a great shipper, but this was an interesting observation:

“Other times, there were reasons he didn’t run well when he traveled,” Mora said Saturday, as he waited for Lava Man to enter the saddling paddock. “This time, I still don’t know. Everything seemed fine. The way he ate, the way he trained, the way he looked. If I had to guess, the only thing left is to say that he was homesick.”

This seems plausible to me. Anyone who lives with animals (and in my case many of them) can tell you that they have an emotional reality and are definitely finely attuned to routine. They’re not NASCARs, they’re animals… there’s “stuff going on in there”.

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