Most post-position draws are as predictable as the breakfast served before the pill pull begins. First the sausage, eggs and coffee, then the predictable quotes.

Trainer A: "It's just where we wanted to be."

Trainer B: "Well, I wouldn't have chosen the outside, but I'd rather be there than the rail."

Trainer C: "We're just going to have to make the best of it."

Wednesday morning's draw for Saturday's Breeders' Cup droned on until Tom Durkin announced that Sakhee had been scratched from the Turf and would run in the 1 1/4-mile Classic on the dirt. His stablemate Fantastic Light, instead of going for the Classic, would run in the 1 1/2-mile Turf, a distance at which he is 2-for-11, albeit with earnings of $2.9 million.

What?

Why?

Sakhee, Godolphin Racing's runaway winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, would have been odds-on in the 1 1/2-mile Turf. He also has handled the dirt poorly in a gallop and a workout at Belmont Park. Like Sakhee, Fantastic Light has never run on the main track, but he has trained on it in Dubai and worked impressively on Belmont's sand earlier in the week. He's favored to win the Turf, even though he's better at 1 1/4 miles.

So what's the point of taking a wild stab with an Arc winner on an unfamiliar surface he appears to dislike?

Ego. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

For Godolphin, the greatest racing empire the world has seen, the Breeders' Cup is not about huge purses. Its founder and head honcho, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, just spent $23 million at the October sales at Keeneland, so money is no object. He's after glory and yearns to do what no other stable has ever done.

Adding a Classic win in his dirt debut to his Arc romp would make Sakhee an instant immortal. When asked about that, Tom Albertrani, Godolphin's assistant trainer, said, "I think that was in the back of everybody's mind."

Simon Crisford, Godolphin's racing manager and spokesman, hinted the week before that Sakhee might go for the Classic, and mentioned a few reasons why.

"Well, right now, he's officially rated the best turf horse in Europe," Crisford said. "His victories this year have been really brilliant, and there's probably not a lot left to prove by running him on turf anymore. We like to pick up a challenge and go for it."

Although putting Sakhee in the Classic seems likely to backfire, it makes sense from Godolphin's perspective. This is an organization that in only six years has taken almost every important race on every continent. Been there, won that. Dominating another major grass race with a heavy favorite would be no big deal. Two years ago, Godolphin won the Turf with Daylami at Gulfstream Park. But to do what has never been done, now that would be glorious.

"The Classic is the top race in North America," Crisford said a week before the draw. "It's the race that everyone in Europe, everyone around the world wants to win. We have plenty of turf championship races in Europe.

"When we've achieved all we can achieve on turf, then we want to have a go and try and do something a little bit different. And it's a very strong challenge. From European racing on turf to dirt racing in America, it's just a world apart. If we believe we've got a horse who can actually make a real go of it, then that's the race we want to go for."

Like Godolphin's Swain, Sakhee won't win the Classic. Unlike Swain, who might have scored in '98 at Churchill Downs if not for an uncharacteristically bad ride by Frankie Dettori, Sakhee probably will finish up the track late Saturday afternoon. In this case, shooting for the moon makes little sense.

I can't knock the concept, though. You have to understand where Godolphin is coming from, and where it's trying to go. The world always should salute its seekers.