Handlers having tough time with unruly Informed

Dubai: If California-based runner Informed is first in the $1 million Godolphin Mile (Gr 2) tomorrow, it could mark one of the most distinctive training feats in Nad Al Sheba racing history.

The five-year-old son of two-time Breeders' Cup Classic winner Tiznow has been so unruly during his morning exercise that trainer Doug O'Neill and his staff have had to come up with creative ways to keep him under control.

"He is one of a kind," declared assistant trainer Leandro Mora, who has been overseeing Informed's training in Dubai prior to O'Neill's arrival.

Informed has shown potential since he was very young. A strong, blocky horse, he drew a bid of $500,000 (Dh1.8 billion) at the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale from Robert and Beverly Lewis, who campaigned 1998 Dubai World Cup winner Silver Charm.

But Informed developed habits like rearing, lunging and jumping when he arrived at the racetrack in the mornings or before leaving his barn. When handlers put a bridle and saddle on him, "he tries to run out of the stall," Mora said.

"He has some kind of a mental problem about it," Mora explained. "He is the sweetest horse in the stall otherwise, just very nice."

But it's a different story when Informed is under tack, something O'Neill and his crew did not know about when they decided to claim the horse last summer.

Informed had always shown ability, finishing in the top three in five of his first eight starts, but he was dropped into a claiming race last June and O'Neill grabbed him for what seemed like a bargain $25,000.