GO CURLIN : Curlin Preakness News

06/10/07 - Shining in Defeat...
Courtesy of the Thoroughbred Daily News
Trainer Steve Asmussen was full of praise for runnerup Curlin. AHe is definitely a throwback,@ he said. AThe races that he's run since March, with the pressure that=s been on him, I can=t say enough about him. We=re very proud of him" He added, AAt the eighth-pole, the filly put a good neck on him and he never gave up.The one thing we've learned with Curlin is that...he's got a lot of fight in him. To the last jump, I thought he'd win--
I thought he'd come back."

Steve Haskin's Belmont Analysis: Let's Not Forget Curlin
by Steve Haskin
COURTESY OF THE BLOODHORSE

All the superlatives and accolades have been written. The 139th Belmont Stakes (gr. I) and the performance of Rags to Riches will forever be a part of Triple Crown lore, and will go down as one of the sport’s greatest moments. But it was not all about one horse. There is another who deserves near-equal billing for his remarkable accomplishments.

Whether in battle or sports, the victors are measured by the strength of their opponent. Rags to Riches not only will be remembered for her feat of becoming the first filly to win the Belmont in 102 years, but for whom she defeated and how. But it would be a gross injustice to Curlin to regard him as merely a measuring stick. Just a head away from being acclaimed a superstar himself, he completed perhaps the most remarkable start to a career by any horse in history.

No horse has ever been asked to do what Curlin has in the first four months of his racing life. From his maiden race on Feb. 3, right through the Rebel Stakes (gr. III), Arkansas Derby (gr. II), Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), and Preakness (gr. I), Curlin never hit the proverbial brick wall he was supposed to. In his first four starts, he never even regressed, despite running four fast and remarkably consistent speed figures (he ran a “zero” each time on Thoro-Graph, give or take a quarter of point). That’s just not supposed to happen. Although his connections and those who bet him down to near-favorite in the Derby were disappointed with this third-place finish, most felt he ran a sensational race to even get third, considering his inexperience and traffic-congested trip.

He then somehow managed to make a huge leap forward in the Preakness (earning a spectacular “negative 3” on Thoro-Graph), while turning in what most everyone considered a freakish performance to defeat Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense. Horses just don’t win the way he did. Then, coming back in only three weeks off his monster speed figures (on both Thoro-Graph and Ragozin), a gut-wrenching effort, and having to go a mile and a half in the Belmont, Curlin did back back up, but only to the “zero” (on Thoro-Graph) he had been running all spring. He again ran his heart out, giving Rags to Riches five pounds, while finishing 5 1/2 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Tiago.

During most of the Belmont, he was stuck in traffic down on the inside, and several times he lost a bit of ground, having nowhere to run. When Robby Albarado finally found an opening and pulled the trigger, the response was brilliant, as was coming home the last half in :47 4/5. And this was three weeks after an intensely grueling effort in the Preakness. You just can't ask more of a horse.

After the Belmont, his trainer, Steve Asmussen, called him a throw-back, and there is no more apt description of this remarkable colt. At a time when Thoroughbreds are handled like finely cut crystal, how special to have one come along that you can bounce on the ground and throw against a wall and it doesn’t even make a dent. You can even run him head-on into that aforementioned brick wall and he runs right through it.

Jerry Brown, founder of Thoro-Graph said he is amazed at what Curlin has accomplished. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “Usually, when horses come out running that fast they don’t hold on for long. They’re usually shot. A few have come out with big numbers, but they almost always go wrong by the third or fourth race. Frankly, having had those three serious efforts coming into the Triple Crown, and then the three big efforts in five weeks, it’s astounding that he came out of this sound. To repeat, it’s not just amazing that he ran a big number again in the Belmont, but that he’s still walking around. The fact that he survived this and will get some kind of a break is a huge plus for later races like the Travers (gr. I).”

Rags to Riches no doubt was the queen of Belmont on June 9, and ruler of all Turfdom, but for the entire Triple Crown, and you can even add the Derby trail, Curlin reigned supreme for the brilliance, courage, toughness, and consistency he displayed. And that is not taking anything away from Street Sense, who, himself, was only a head away from becoming a household name in the three weeks leading up to the Belmont. But Curlin ran in all three Triple Crown races, with absolutely no 2-year-old foundation to lean back on. What the future holds for him no one knows, but once thing is for sure: when they made this colt they threw away the book.

6/6/06 - Steve Haskin's Belmont Report: Curlin vs. Rags Has Belmont Abuzz
by Steve Haskin
Date Posted: June 6, 2007
COURTESY OF THE BLOODHORSE

6/4/07 - Preakness winner Curlin works four furlongs at Churchill Downs
COURTESY OF THE THOROUGHBREDTIMES TODAY

Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Curlin completed his final serious training prior to the $1-million Belmont Stakes (G1) on Saturday with a four-furlong work on Monday at Churchill Downs. The Smart Strike colt was clocked in :50.60 over a “fast” surface under regular exercise rider Carmen Rosas, which ranked 29th of 41 timed works at the distance. Churchill Downs clockers timed Curlin in fractions of :13.60, :25.60, and :38, and he galloped out five furlongs in 1:04.60.“That was what we want to see,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “He looks very familiar, very lose. He went a halfmile in :50 and three and was off in 13 and change. He went nice and smooth through the wire and galloped out good.”

Curlin is scheduled to board a plane late Tuesday morning that will take him to New York for the 11⁄2-mile final leg of the Triple Crown. Curlin will face a short field in the Belmont, which will include Hard Spun, the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) runner-up who finished third in the Preakness. The connections of Derby winner Street Sense passed on the Belmont in favor of a fall campaign. Asmussen earned his first career classic victory with Curlin, who will be his first Belmont starter. He said that success in the Belmont should give Curlin the edge for year end championship honors. “I think all of the classics are difficult and they pose their own problems,” Asmussen said. “There are different variables in the distance and the stage of being on a mile and half racetrack. You’re not going to hide in any corners—you’re going to be out there and you’ve got to do it. I’d rather lead him over than any other horse

6/2/07 - Curlin’s connections confident as Belmont stakes approaches
Courtesy of the Thoroughbred Times
Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen, is enjoying the ride with Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Curlin. “He’s a special horse to be around,” Blasi said on Friday after the Smart Strike colt galloped 11⁄4 miles at Churchill Downs. “Anytime you grow up in racing, this is the level you want to get to.”

Blasi said that when Curlin first came to Asmussen’s barn following his 123⁄4-length victory in a seven-furlong maiden special weight race at Gulfstream Park in his career debut, he did not expect the colt to have matured enough to earn a spot on the Triple Crown trail. “Our first thoughts were that there was a good chance he wouldn’t be ready for the Kentucky Derby [Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)],” Blasi said.

Victories in the Rebel Stakes (G3) by 51⁄4 lengths and the Arkansas Derby (G2) by 101⁄2 lengths gave the Asmussen and Blasi the sense Curlin was ready for the Derby, where he finished a strong third behind Street Sense and Hard Spun. He came back in the Preakness to edge Street Sense by a head, giving Asmussen his first classic victory. “With each race, he’s gotten stronger and better,” Blasi said.
Curlin will ship to Belmont Park on Tuesday for a run in the $1-million Belmont Stakes (G1) on Saturday.

Curlin is one of only five horses expected for the Belmont along with Hard Spun, Slew’s Tizzy, Imawildandcrazyguy, and Tiago. Trainer Todd Pletcher’s Kentucky Oaks (G1)-winning filly Rags to Riches and Grade 2 winner Circular Quay are outside shots to be entered in the 11⁄2-mile final leg of the Triple Crown.

5/27/07 - Preakness winner Curlin breezes
Courtesy of the Thoroughbred Times

Trainer Steve Asmussen said Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Curlin remains on target for the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 9 after the Smart Strike colt turned in an easy five-furlong breeze at Churchill Downs on Monday. Curlin, who has won four of five starts this season after not racing as a juvenile, covered the distance in 1:03.20 under regular exercise rider Carmen Rosas. The move was ranked 25th of 34 timed works at the distance. The chestnut three-year-old galloped out six furlongs in 1:16.60. “I was very pleased with him,” said Asmussen, who trains Curlin for owners Stonestreet Stables, Padua Stables, GeorgeBolton, and Midnight Cry Stables. “I just try to be pretty rhythmic with where we’re at with him. I feel that the familiarity for him with what we’re doing keeps his state of mind where we want it to be: nice and relaxed. With everything that’s been asked of him over a short period of time, I want to keep everything as close to normal as I possibly can.”

Curlin won his first three starts by a combined 281⁄2 lengths, capped by a 101⁄2-length romp in the Arkansas Derby (G2) on April 14 at Oaklawn Park. He suffered his lone career setback to date when finishing third behind Street Sense in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) on May 5 at Churchill Downs. Curlin bounced out of the Derby in good shape and demonstrated his resiliency with a game run in the Preakness, in which he battled back after being passed by Street Sense in the stretch to nip that foe in the final strides.

Asmussen said he has shown the same positive signs leading up to the 11⁄2-mile Belmont that he did prior to the Preakness. “With what we’ve seen in the Derby and in the Preakness, I think we we’re on target for this,” Amussen said. “Him being comfortable, relaxed, and traveling the way that he is, is what we’re concerning ourselves with right now, and I can’t tell you how fortunate we feel. “For everything that he’s done over a short period of time and for him to be carrying the weight that he is, and acting the way that he is, is the testament to his quality.” Asmussen said that Curlin would breeze again next Monday and is scheduled to be flown from Louisville to New York on June 5.