I thought for a second that he was going to stay boxed in, but that stretch run was beautiful!
No doubt, he is a very very good horse!
IMO(and I\'m sure most others) curlin is such a superstar. If there was a time recently, he would have been vulnerable Saturday coming from overseas and spotting 15lbs to the field and he dominated as usual. It couldn\'t have come at a better time while the sport has been under such public scrutiny. I hope he passes 10 mil and keeps going. Can\'t wait for the breeders cup.
VERY nice horse Curlin,can\'t wait for him to beat somebody.Maybe by BC time a few horses will get faster and we\'ll see a competitive race.
Mike
I know this is highly subjective, but IMO Curlin had excuses in all his losses. Perhaps they weren\'t big enough to account for the loss, but they were excuses.
1. He had a tough trip in the Derby.
2. The Belmont was a slow paced race. We\'ve seen repeatedly that the winner of slow paced races is not always the best horse. It\'s the horse that gets the jump or that can finish with the greatest brilliance while fresh. I am a huge fan of Rags to Riches, but I believe had the pace been faster and really tapped what each of those horses had inside instead of it being a sprint home from the top of the stretch, Curlin would have gotten the best of her.
3. He was wide in the Haskell on a day when inside speed and inside stalkers seemed to have an advantage (Any Given Saturday sat in the pocket with a perfect trip and disappointed next out. Curlin came back with a huge effort. Both support the case).
I\'m not sure where to rank this horse yet, but IMO he\'s one of the better ones we\'ve seen recently. I would have liked to have seen Curlin vs. Invasor.
The most fun we can have the remainder of this season: Curlin versus Big Brown at some point.
I really hope this happens.
First and foremost, it would be great for the sport.
Second,if Big Brown were given proper time to recover from the Triple Corwn and if the hoof comes back around, with the weight break Big Brown would receive, he would be the clear sheet pick vs. Curlin. Big Brown\'s 4.75 negative in the Derby is 0.75 faster than any number Curlin has received (not knowing what he got on Sat in the Foster). With the weight, Big Brown would have a huge shot of beating Curlin which would likely be good value as the betting public would only remember Big Brown\'s poor Belmont. Big Brown would definitely need to be given the opportunity to get back to his top with proper rest and a not over the top prep race but it could happen.
Here\'s hoping.
Right now one could argue that Curlin is as dominant as any superstar in sports, including Tiger Woods.
He\'s a breath of fresh air in a game that stinks right now.
Good Luck,
Joe B.
Yes and after a work on turf he may have only one turf race left in the states before going to France for the Arc. Or at least that\'s the news in the UK.
I certainly don\'t wish the connections ill, but I hope the horse stays here and provides a great second half of the year.
My fondest memories of the sport include the clashes between the stars of different years. They don\'t always come into races at their best, but the races are memorable anyway.
I\'d like to see at least a couple of more races in the US before he switches to turf and leaves the country. If he turns out to be a high level turfer also, that will certainly enhance his reputation and raise his standing among the best horses of the last couple of decades.