The 2007 Horse of the Year, Curlin, did not disappoint as an overwhelming favorite in Saturday’s 55th running of the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes. The son of Smart Strike was asked to chase surprisingly quick early fractions, and was able to gun down pace setter Pass the Point (hat tip to Gerald) in the final yards to move to second place all-time on the North American earnings list with $9,796,800. The great Cigar is $203,015 ahead of Curlin with $9,999,815 in lifetime earnings.
Pass the Point rocketed out of the gate and took the early lead from the horse I thought would be on the lead, Wanderin Boy. Divine Park and Curlin were ahead of the second flight of horses in the early going. Pass the Point blazed to early fractions of 22.80 and 46.20 and took a full length lead that Wanderin Boy could never overcome.
As the field entered the final turn, Curlin was gobbling up ground and coming all out with his run. As we’ve seen so many times throughout the Saratoga meet, early speed on the main track can be extremely difficult to take down. It took everything Curlin had to catch a 40-1 shot in Pass the Point. Still, you never really got the feeling he was going to lose the race. He didn’t quite have his “A-game”, but he had enough to pull away in the final strides to win by 1 1/4 lengths.
The final time for the Woodward was 1:49.34. Curlin returned $2.70 for the win. Pass the Point returned a whopping $13.80 for place to complete a $41.80 exacta. Wanderin Boy hung on for third in a trifecta that paid $185.00.
Divine Park and Out of Control were major disappointments in the Woodward finishing at the back of the pack. A. P. Arrow was only mildly able to get uncorked finishing 4th. Immediately after the race, the announcers on TVG started critiquing Curlin’s run. It clearly wasn’t his best effort, but I think it’s worth noting that the official results chart denotes two separate instances of Curlin being “brushed” (on the first turn and at the five-eighths pole, respectively). Coupled with the tighter turns of the Saratoga main track, the high propensity for front runners to battle on in the stretch, and the shorter 1 1/8 mile distance, I’m satisfied with Curlin’s run. He did what he needed to do in order to get the job done.
Up next for the super-colt is anybody’s guess. The Jockey Club Gold Cup, in which he defeated top older horse Lawyer Ron in 2007, would seem to be his next goal. After that would likely be the Japan Cup. A return to the Breeder’s Cup Classic and a showdown with top 3-year-old Big Brown remains unlikely for the moment. Stranger things have happened though.
On a side note, Curlin and first defence led to a very lucrative day at Saratoga for yours truly. I hit the pick 4 for $321, and thanks to Gerald’s focus on Pass the Point, was able to hit the trifecta as well. Plus, as we speak, my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide lead #9 Clemson 31-10 early in the 4th quarter. What a way to start a weekend!
Hey Kevin! The Woodward was so exciting!!! Saratoga definetly makes for heart-stopping finishes! It was so amazing to see Curlin again, and I got a spot right at the winners circle rail!
I thought he ran a great race, not nearly as “great” as everyone thought it would be, but it was a thriller.
Jess jackson actually said after the race that the ideal schedule for Curlin would be, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Breeders Cup Classic (shock!) and the Japan Cup.
Go Curlin!!
I definitely have to let you pick my bets for me if we ever get out to Hastings Park.
kevin. we did good……GLC
more to come.
Honestly, I thought Curlin looked fat and out-of-shape. I think he needs more racing, not more rest to stay sharp.
@Brian – must’ve been awesome, man. Glad you had a good time and were able to see him pull through. WIsh I could’ve been there!
@Raincoaster – just say the word. Actually, aren’t the Olympics headed to Vancouver in the next couple of years? May have to make a Canadian voyage when that happens.
@Anglokraut – fat and out of shape? Really? I thought he looked as good as possible. Matt Carouthers on TVG, who had been picking against him using Wanderin Boy and Divine Park, had this reaction when he saw him in the paddock:
“What? Are you kidding me? I’m intimidated by him and I’m 3,000 miles away. He looks like a Greek god!”
Either Curlin is out-of-shape, or he’s past his peak already. I think that a fit Curlin would have kicked home more impressively; in the Woodward, he just looked like he was carrying too much horseflesh. If he runs in the JCGC I think he’ll do better, as he’s shown in the past that he’s a better horse when he races more often.
I hate to say it, but when I saw Curlin in the paddock (albeit via Twinspires’ video), the first thing I thought too was he looked a little fat around the middle. Given the way he labored home, I’m thinking he could do with more frequent workouts. Maybe Asmussen isn’t really training him as much as letting him get by on pure talent. That was my complaint about his turf effort–they barely trained him over the surface. I can understand he’s worth a ton of money as a potential stud, but he can get hurt from lack of training too.
Hi Kevin, I have been very busy..But glad to see Curlin win,,,,However he
started to get tired late—This was not the same tease win like pre-world
cup………..Lets hope he gets that strong zip back..
When i last left you i was a little upset with Curlin’s connections about
syn turf-Well i think they are coming around, the Goodwood could be in there
plans…….The next big thing other then winning the Arch—Would be to win
the Classic and then win the World Cup in March and then retire to stud…
What do you think? I beleive no one has done that……GREGG
It sounds like it’s either the Goodwin or the Jockey Club Gold Cup next. I also thought it sounded more and more this week like there wouldn’t be a 5-year-old campaign for Curlin. A few weeks back I was convinced there would be.
Regarding the Woodward – I think it’s worth pointing out that Curlin had to run for a good 3/4 of a mile to close the ground between him and the speedball. That’s taxing for any horse, but he still did not appear to be laboring to me the way say Big Brown did in the Haskell.
If he did look heavy, well – this horse is a monster, and he eats like Michael Phelps. I think he’s fine. The M.O. to beat him seems to now be to have ridiculous early fractions and then hope you can hang on. I doubt anyone will be able to make it close once he gets back to 1 1/4 miles. I wonder how many lengths he would’ve won the Woodward bye if he had another furlong?
As for the syn-dirt thing – I don’t blame them (his connections) one bit. I know it’s glorious to run in the Classic and in a perfect world we’d do that, but I agree with them that he’s been there/done that, and I also agree that th synthetic tracks favor a different type of horse.
An analogy i”ve been using to explain this goes to my beloved St. Louis Rams in there “greatest show on turf” days in 1999 – 2001. Take them off the turf and onto regular grass and suddenly they weren’t twice as fast as every other team. Yet put those same teams on the turf and the Rams ran circles around everyone.
I think it’s a big enough concern that if I were making the decisions on Curlin, I’d probably skip the Classic as well. Hate to say it, but there it is. Believe me though – I dream of a Breeder’s Cup weekend this fall that features Curlin, Zenyatta, Street Boss, Ginger Punch, etc.
I really like seeing Curlin come out of a fast race for once. He needed this race to be get back in top form. Look for him to run like a monster next time out!
It’s the Jockey Club Gold Cup for Curlin next!! I hope he destroys the field. It’s in NY again, which means I can go see him again!!!