Bad As I Wanna Be (horse)

Bad As I Wanna Be made his racecourse debut in a maiden race over six furlongs at Newbury Racecourse in which he started at odds of 11/2 but came home eleventh of the thirteen runners behind Patsy's Double. After a break of over two months the colt returned for a five furlong maiden at Windsor Racecourse on 31 July in which he started at 6/1 in a sixteen-runner field. Ridden by Jimmy Fortune he took the lead from the start and won "readily" by three lengths from Senior Minister.[9]

On 20 August Bad As I Wanna Be was stepped up sharply in class and sent to France to contest the Prix Morny over 1200 metres at Deauville Racecourse in which he was partnered by Gerald Mosse. The Richmond Stakes winner Endless Summer started odds on favourite ahead of Noverre and Rolly Polly (Prix Robert Papin) with Bad As I Wanna Be starting the 14.4/1 outsider of the six runners. The colt led from the start, broke clear of his rivals 400 metres from the start and won by six lengths from Endless Summer.[10] The runner-up was later disqualified when it was discovered that he had been foaled five days before the end of 1997 and was thus technically a three-year-old.[11] After the race Meehan commented "He's a good, old-fashioned type of horse with a decent pedigree. I'd like to find another race for him before the end of the season, but I am not sure what that race will be".[12]

Mosse again took the ride when the colt returned to France for the Prix de la Salamandre over 1400 metres at Longchamp Racecourse on 16 September. Starting the odds-on favourite, he raced in second place for most of the way but faded in the closing stages and finished last of the four runners behind Tobougg. Twelve days after his defeat at Longchamp, Bad As I Wanna Be contested the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse and went off the 11/2 second favourite. He finished fourth behind Minardi, Endless Summer and Red Carpet but was promoted to third when Endless Summer was disqualified as an ineligible entrant.[13]

In the official classification of European two-year-olds Bad As I Wanna Be was given a rating of 119, making him the fourth best juvenile colt of the season behind Minardi, Okawango and Tobougg.[14]

At the end of the year Bad As I Wanna Be was purchased privately by Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin organisation and transferred to the stable of Saeed bin Suroor.[15]

After missing the whole of the 2001 season Bad As I Wanna Be returned for two sprint races on the dirt track at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai in early 2002 but made little impact. He ran third in a minor race on 12 February and then came home eighth in the Listed Mahab Al Shimaal on 2 March.[16]