Happily Unbridled

Although Curlin made his debut at Saratoga a winning one, it wasn’t as visually impressive as many of his races have been and it seemed to take all he had to get past the long shot front runner, Past the Point.

Past the Point, a 40-1 shot, set quick fractions in the 1 1/8 mile race and led into the upper stretch with Curlin “uncoiling” behind him. It looked like Curlin would run right by and win going away but once he drew even with the pacesetter, he seemed to tire and labored during the final 1/8 of a mile to finally prevail by 1 1/4 lengths. The plucky Past the Point was making his grade 1 debut for trainer Eoin Harty and proved the best of the rest by finishing 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Wanderin Boy with A P Arrow finishing fourth.

This was Curlin’s first start in seven weeks and the connections appear to be pointing him towards the 10-furlong Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr 1) at Belmont Park on September 27. There is apparently no decision to enter Curlin in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita in October; it is more likely that Curlin will ship overseas for the Japan Cup.

Even though the great Curlin appeared to be a bit less than his best yesterday, his determination and willingness to win prevailed and he was back in the winners circle where he belongs. This is possibly Curlin’s final year of racing so we need to enjoy every moment of his last few races … no matter what happens in the next few weeks, we know we’ve seen a champion that is one of the best horses racing fans have seen in the past 15 years.

Thanks for the thrills, Curlin!

If you haven’t heard, Curlin, reigning horse of the year, is back in action today at Saratoga in the Woodward Stakes. This superstar owned by Stonestreet Stable and trained by Steve Asmussen, has never run at Saratoga before but was installed as the 3-5 morning line favorite. He’ll be ridden again by Robbie Alberado and breaks from post 5.

Seven other horses are entered in the 1 1/8 mile race which is run on the dirt. Curlin’s last race was on turf in which he finished second to Red Rocks; his connections were considering a try at an international campaign on the turf prior to this second place finish but have apparently decided to keep Curlin on the dirt. This may also be the reason that Curlin may not run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic this year in Santa Anita since that track is no longer a dirt track but has been changed to a synthetic surface to comply with the State of California mandate. Turf horses seem to perform better on the synthetic surface than dirt horses do so the synthetic may not be to Curlin’s liking.

Curlin had a busy year in 2007 by winning the Rebel Stakes, the Arkansas Derby, the Preakness, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and the Breeders’ Cup Classic which was run (in the mud) at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. This year he traveled to Dubai to win the World Cup by a record 7 3/4 lengths and then returned to the US and won the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs in June.

Curlin is routinely outstanding in most of his races and the fans expect nothing less today … of course, this is still a horse race and anything can happen.

These are the horses in post position order, followed by trainer, jockey and morning line odds:
1. A.P. Arrow, Todd Pletcher, Cornelio Velasquez, 20-1
2. Loose Leaf, Ken McPeek, Eibar Coa, 15-1
3. Past the Point, Eoin Harty, Edgar Prado, 15-1
4. Divine Park, Kiaran McLaughlin, Alan Garcia, 3-1
5. Curlin, Steve Asmussen, Robby Albarado, 3-5
6. Dr. D.F.C., Rodrigo Ubillo, Aldo Arboleda, 50-1
7. Out of Control, Bobby Frankel, John Velazquez, 12-1
8. Wanderin Boy, Nick Zito, Julien Leparoux, 8-1
Each assigned 126 pounds

Go Baby (Curlin) Go!