Posts Tagged ‘prix de l’arc de triomphe’
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
He’s not quite Uncle Sam looking for a few good men and women to sign up for the U.S. Army, but Jess Jackson does want something from the public: their opinion. Specifically, the Paulick Report has learned that the California winemaker and Thoroughbred horseman is seeking input from both fans and horsemen in an online poll on where 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin should race next.
The debate on whether or not Curlin should continue on his ambitious path toward the Oct. 5 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France began among Jackson, his family, trainer Steve Asmussen and Jackson’s advisers shortly after the 4-year-old son of Smart Strike finished second to 2006 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Red Rocks in last Saturday’s Man o’ War on the turf at Belmont Park. It was Curlin’s first start on grass.
Realizing the discussions and debate extend far beyond Curlin’s inner circle, Jackson decided to see where the public thinks Curlin should race next, so he asked for poll to be set up on his Stonestreet Farms web site at www.StonestreetFarms.com.
"It became obvious this weekend at Belmont Park that Curlin is not only a hero to me and my family but also to thousands of fans," Jackson said. "With so many people supporting Curlin and his future I wanted to ask the public where they think Curlin should go next."
The poll, which will be open through July 30, asks simply: "If you were Curlin’s owner, Jess Jackson, where should Curlin go next?"
A. Turf Campaign
B. Dirt Campaign
C. Synthetic Surface Campaign
D. Retire
In the meantime, Curlin has shipped from Belmont Park to Saratoga, where he will train for his next engagement, wherever that is.
Winner of last year’s Preakness Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup and Breeders’ Cup Classic en route to honors as champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year, Curlin has yet to race on a synthetic surface. This year’s Breeders’ Cup, held at Santa Anita during the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting, will be the first on synthetic track for the traditional dirt races. Santa Anita is installing a Pro-Ride synthetic surface this summer after experiencing drainage problems with the Cushion Track it had previously installed.
"Curlin is a true world class champion," Jackson said. "He continues to race at the age of four years old and stands as an inspiration and fresh change for the industry."
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Curlin, jess jackson, man o' war, Paulick Report, prix de l'arc de triomphe, Ray Paulick, red rocks
Posted in Curlin | 22 Comments »
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
Jess Jackson has been talking about the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for his 2007 North American Horse of the Year Curlin for some time now. I just have one question: Why?
The 4-year-old son of Smart Strike is a very good racehorse, the best on the globe according to the World Rankings, and perhaps the best American dirt horse since Cigar, the two-time Horse of the Year from a decade ago. Curlin had an outstanding 3-year-old season in 2007, culminating with a powerful win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He won this year’s Dubai World Cup by a record margin. His return to the U.S. resulted in an impressive victory at Churchill Downs in the Stephen Foster Handicap. Jackson, who bought into Curlin as a minority partner after the colt’s maiden victory in February 2007 and now is the majority owner, is to be commended for keeping Curlin in training this year, rather than retire him to stud. He was the only leading member of the 3-year-old class of 2007 to return to the track in 2008.
But Jackson’s fascination with France’s premier race, to be run Oct. 5, doesn’t make sense to me, for several reasons.
First, and most obvious, Curlin is a dirt horse, a winner of nine of 12 starts on that surface. He may have had a good workout on the Churchill Downs turf yesterday ( video of work), but his running style has been developed for racing on the dirt, and he would need to change that to be successful on turf. Second, even with a good prep race on an American turf track at Arlington or Belmont Park, Curlin will find the layout of Longchamp’s grass course to be…well…foreign. Horses race clockwise there, the opposite direction of every American track. It’s not an oval course like every American track. And its stretch seems to last forever. Third, Curlin will be going into the lion’s den. Turf conditions for the Arc are usually yielding, and the horses in Europe have been training and racing under similar conditions throughout their careers. Going a mile and a half on that type of surface is far more demanding than what Curlin encountered on dirt last year in the Belmont Stakes at the same distance. France is Fabre country. Trainer Andre Fabre is the master of the Arc de Triomphe, having won seven of the last 21 runnings. He and other leading French trainers circle the date of the Arc each year and point their best horses to the race. Fourth, even if Curlin were to win—and I think it would be highly unlikely he would be able to overcome all the things going against him—it would mean very little to his future as a stallion prospect in the United States. Breeders want to breed to horses who excel on the dirt, where most American racing takes place. Perhaps their second choice would be to breed to horses who excel on synthetic surfaces, though it is too early in to speculate on that. With only a very few exceptions, American breeders are not excited about breeding to horses who have won the world’s best turf races. Kingmambo and Giant’s Causeway would be the exceptions on the current list of leading sires. Interestingly, someone very close to the Curlin team who can provide the best insights on racing in France and the Arc is retired jockey Cash Asmussen, the brother of Curlin’s trainer, Steve Asmussen. Cash captured numerous riding titles in France after winning the Eclipse Award here as leading apprentice in 1979. He won the Arc on one occasion, with Suave Dancer in 1991.
Curlin, as mentioned, may be the best American dirt horse since Cigar. If his summer and fall campaign were geared toward dirt (and synthetic track) racing, he might have had the chance to prove himself as the best horse since Spectacular Bid, whose 4-year-old season in 1980 featured nine consecutive wins, with crushing defeats of his opposition on both coasts and at Arlington Park in the Midwest. The Bid’s career ended with the opposition saying “mercy” as he cruised to a walkover victory in the Woodward at Belmont Park in late September. He was injured shortly thereafter and retired to stud.
If Jackson is determined to send Curlin to France for the Arc, more power to him. It’s his horse, but that’s tricky turf over there. If that happens, I’m afraid at the end of this year all we’ll be left to talk about with Curlin is the year that might have been.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: andre fabre, cash asmussen, cigar, Curlin, Horse Racing, jess jackson, Paulick Report, prix de l'arc de triomphe, Ray Paulick, spectacular bid, steve asmussen
Posted in Curlin, Horse Racing | 9 Comments »
Sunday, June 29th, 2008
Two years ago, Deep Impact, a two-time Horse of the Year in Japan, traveled to Paris to take on the world’s best grass runners in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Thousands of Japanese fans followed the horse to France and bet with such confidence that Deep Impact was the odds-on favorite to win what is arguably Europe’s most prestigious race.
The son of Sunday Silence could do no better than third, however, a stinging loss that paled in comparison to the news that followed days later, when results of a post-race test showed the presence of the prohibited therapeutic medication Ipratropium, which Deep Impact was allowed to take during training in Japan to treat lung congestion. He had subsequently been treated with the drug in France prior to the Arc.
In a country where honor is in abundance, trainer Yasuo Ikee took the fall. He said he thought he was following the withdrawal time guidelines, but accepted full blame and responsibility for the error. There was no appeal. Ikee apologized to French authorities and to Japanese racing fans. He said he would do everything in his power to never make a similar mistake in the future.
A little over a month later, when Deep Impact scored an overpowering victory back home in the Japan Cup, Ikee was nearly moved to tears during a post-race press conference when asked about his experience in France. He continued to apologize for the medication positive, saying that it was by far the lowest point of his professional career. The Japan Cup win lightened the burden he felt over the Arc defeat and the humiliation of the post-race disqualification, but it was clear he continued to carry a large amount of shame and embarrassment over the incident.
I thought of Yasuo Ikee this past week when American racing’s bad boy, Rick Dutrow, reacted like a petulant child when asked about a positive test by one of his horses racing at Churchill Downs the day before he saddled Big Brown to win the Kentucky Derby. “It’s not my fault, though it’s my responsibility,” he was quoted as saying in a press conference that turned bizarre. Dutrow plans to appeal his 15-day suspension, not because he feels the ruling will be overturned but because the system allows him to delay any suspension through the appeals process, and he wants to put off any punishment as long as possible so he can be with his horses. How admirable.
Worse, however, Dutrow said, in effect, “Clenbuterol? It’s no big deal.” He not only refused to accept blame for the positive test, he then started suggesting other past and current trainers were bigger cheaters than he was.
If timing is everything, the news of Dutrow’s bad test couldn’t have come at a worse time for IEAH Stable, the majority owner of Big Brown. Only a few days earlier, the outfit pledged to race its horses drug free beginning Oct. 1. Until then, I guess, it’s “Katy, bar the door!” Dutrow’s clenbuterol positive wasn’t the only time medication was in the news this week. Steve Asmussen, this year’s leading trainer by money and wins and the conditioner of reigning Horse of the Year Curlin, was notified of a positive test for Lidocaine in one of his horses racing in Texas last month. His hearing is scheduled for July 18.
Consider this: the trainers of the 2007 Horse of the Year, the 2008 Kentucky Derby winner and the 2008 Kentucky Oaks winner (Larry Jones) are all facing positive drug tests for horses in their care. Anyone who thinks racing doesn’t have a problem is in serious denial.
Finally, in what could turn out to be the most significant medication story of the week, Monmouth Park’s leading trainer, Bruce Levine, had a surprise visitor on Tuesday when a veterinarian working for the New Jersey Racing Commission took “out-of-competition” blood samples from each of the 41 horses in his barn. The commission will run tests for the blood-doping agent erythropoietin, better known as EPO.No matter how the drug tests turn out (and there is no suggestion that Levine is doing anything illegal while winning at a near 50% clip), New Jersey officials should be commended for conducting out-of-competition testing. It’s the type of activity that could act as a deterrent to other trainers who may be using illegal, performance-enhancing medication.
In other headlines this week, Santa Anita announced its decision to replace the current synthetic surface that had major draining issues earlier this year with Pro-Ride, manufactured by an Australian company. The Paulick Report reported the findings of a California trainers’ survey and injury statistics supporting Santa Anita’s decision to stay with a synthetic surface.
Finally, we reported on the industry’s newest odd couple, Robert Clay of Three Chimneys Farm and the human connections of Big Brown. Clay has spent years crafting an image of integrity and excellence, but he was eager to recruit Big Brown to his stallion barn despite the baggage the colt brings in the form of a co-owner, Michael Iavarone, who greatly enhanced his Wall Street reputation while recruiting owners to the IEAH Stable he runs, and trainer Rick Dutrow, who needs no further introduction at this point.
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By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: Big Brown, Brant Latta, bruce levine, clenbuterol, Curlin, deep impact, disqualification, epo, erythropoietin, horse of the year, Horse Racing, IEAH stable, kentucky derby, kentucky oaks, larry jones, lidocaine, Magna Entertainment, Michael Iavarone, new jersey racing commission, Paulick Report, prix de l'arc de triomphe, pro-ride, Ray Paulick, rick dutrow, Robert Clay, santa anita, steve asmussen, synthetic surface, yasuo ikee
Posted in Week in Review | 4 Comments »
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