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Epic Desire
Closer
“Epic Desire is the turf romantic stuck in a dirt world. Put him on the green stuff at a mile and a quarter, and he transforms into a completely different animal. On dirt? He's a tourist. This horse is the ultimate argument for surface specificity — you're watching two different horses depending on what's under his hooves.”
Fun Facts
- His sire English Channel is a Hall of Fame turf horse, which explains everything
- His one career win came on turf at Belmont Park by 4 widening lengths
- GPS stride data on turf shows a 0.6 ft/s improvement vs. dirt — the biggest surface gap in the database
TrainerChristophe Clement
JockeyManny Franco
SireEnglish Channel
DamDesire's Dream
Age5 yrs
Weight1175 lbs
$112K
Career Earnings
1
Career Wins
✓ Strengths
- ✓Exceptional stride efficiency of 2.27 — moves like a machine on grass surfaces
- ✓GPS data on turf shows sustained 16.8+ ft/s through the final 3 furlongs vs. 16.1 on dirt
- ✓Handles distance well; speed curve stays flat even at 10 furlongs on turf
⚠ Weaknesses
- ⚠Speed figures drop a dramatic 1.2 ft/s on dirt vs. turf — a confirmed surface specialist
- ⚠Top speed of 16.4 ft/s on dirt is the lowest in the entire 20-horse database
GPS Performance Data
Speed Curve (ft/s across race)
16.4
Top Speed
ft/s
16.0
Avg Speed
ft/s
2.27
Stride Efficiency
6.8
Avg Finish
of 7 races
10F
Best Distance
Turf
Best Surface
Recent Results
DateTrackFinish
Mar 14, 2026CNL9th
Feb 8, 2026GP5th
Jan 18, 2026AQU7th
Dec 28, 2025GP4th
Dec 6, 2025AQU8th