Posts Tagged ‘woodward’

By Ray Paulick

Reigning Horse of the Year Curlin edged past a stubborn pacesetter, Past the Point, to win the Grade 1 Woodward by a length and a quarter at Saratoga Saturday and move closer to Cigar’s earnings record of $9,999,815 for a North America-based Thoroughbred.

(VIDEO, Equibase charts for Saratoga)

Under regular rider Robby Albarado, Curlin broke well, but was jostled and carried out a bit wide into the first turn of the nine-furlong Woodward, then settled into fourth position as Edgar Prado guided Past the Point through quick early fractions of :22.89, :46.20 and 1:09.61. Wanderin Boy prompted the early pace.

Albarado asked Curlin for more run approaching the far turn, passed Wanderin Boy at the head of the stretch and set his sights on Past the Point, who came into the Woodward with just one graded stakes appearance (a third in last year’s Grade 2 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs) in nine starts. But the Eoin Harty-trained son of Indian Charlie racing for Darley Stable made Curlin work for the win. Albarado went to the whip a half-dozen times, getting up in the final furlong to grind out a hard-earned victory. Past the Point was second, with Wanderin Boy third. Final time of the race on a fast track was 1:49.34 after a mile split of 1:35.33. All starters carried 126 pounds.

It was Curlin’s first race at Saratoga and his 10th win in 14 lifetime starts. The 4-year-old son of Smart Strike races for Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and is trained by Steve Asmussen. The win in the $500,000 Woodward moved his career earnings to $9,796,800, putting him just over $200,000 shy of Cigar’s record. 

The Woodward was Curlin’s fourth win in five starts this year, his only defeat coming last time out in the Grade 1 Man o’ War at Belmont Park when Jackson wanted to try the horse on grass before a possible trip to France for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. That idea was scrapped when Curlin finished second to Red Rocks and now Jackson is thought to be considering the Japan Cup Dirt the first week of December. He has indicated that Curlin will not defend his title in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, won last year on a very sloppy track at Monmouth Park but scheduled on Santa Anita Park’s untested Pro-Ride synthetic track this year.

Curlin paid $2.70 as the heavy betting favorite.

FIRST DEFENCE went wire to wire to win the Grade 1 Forego after heavy favorite Lucky Island stumbled badly and was pinched back at the start. Under jockey Channing HIll, the 4-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song fought off an early duel with Eternal Star, setting fractions of :22.53, :44.61, and 1:08.49, then drawing off to win by 6 3/4 lengths, completing seven furlongs on a fast track in 1:21.55. Greeley’s Conquest finished second, with Ferocious Fires third. Lucky Island, who came into the Forego off four straight victories, moved into contention at the top of the stretch after falling back to last, but was unable to sustain his rally and wound up sixth.

The Forego winner runs for his breeder, Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms, and is trained by Robert Frankel. He was winning for the sixth time in 12 starts, but his only previous graded stakes victory came in the Grade 3 Jaipur. First Defence paid $17.60.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick

Jess Jackson, majority owner of Horse of the Year Curlin, said the Smart Strike colt will race next in the Woodward at Saratoga Aug. 30 at 1 1/8 miles on dirt.

The California winemaker said other races he and trainer Steve Asmussen had under consideration for Curlin were the Pacific Classic on Polytrack at Del Mar Aug. 24 and the Arlington Million on turf this weekend at Arlington Park in Chicago.

"The Woodward has the least purse," Jackson said, "but we thought it would be best to stay at this venue (where Curlin is currently training), both for him and for racing." Also, Jackson spoke of the historic nature of Saratoga and the many great horses who have raced there. "(Curlin’s) legacy is one of the reasons I want to run at Saratoga."

The purse for the Woodward is $500,000, half that of the Million and Pacific Classic. The race originated at Aqueduct, but had its longest run at Belmont Park. It was moved to Saratoga in 2006.

Its roster of winners reads like a who’s who of racing over the last 50 years: Forego is a four-time Woodward winner; Kelso won three times; Cigar twice; and Buckpasser, Damascus, Seattle Slew Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Alysheba, Mineshaft, Ghostzapper, and Saint Liam also won the Woodward. Last year’s winner was Lawyer Ron.

The Woodward is not scheduled to be televised on network or cable television, other than on the two racing channels, TVG and HRTV.

Jackson said he was making decisions on a "one race at a time" basis, but that several scenarios are under consideration for  one or two more races after the Woodward, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Japan Cup or Japan Cup Dirt, or the Hong Kong International Races. He mentioned several other races as having been under consideration, including the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont, the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs, and the Goodwood Handicap at Oak Tree’s Santa Anita meeting.

"We’re going to keep all those options open, but right now we’re going to focus on the Woodward," he said. "Curlin is a happy horse here. He loves the Oklahoma training track.

"We’d like to go (to the Breeders’ Cup Classic), but it’s an untested surface," Jackson said, in reference to the Pro-Ride synthetic track currently being installed at Santa Anita Park, which will host the Breeders’ Cup both this year and in 2009. Besides, Jackson said in reference to the Classic, which Curlin won last year to seal his Horse of the Year title, "Been there, done that."

Jackson said the Arc de Triomphe is out "for this year," and added that he might have actually preferred sending Curlin to the Sept. 6 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown instead, because of the configuration of the racetrack and the smaller field that is expected. "The Arc is more of a cavalry charge," he said.

He also said he has not completely ruled out running Curlin in 2009 as a 5-year-old. "The chances of racing him next year are pretty slim," said Jackson, who added that Curlin’s addition to the stallion gene pool would be a great asset to the industry.

Jackson said he hopes Curlin and Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner Big Brown meet and encouraged the owners of Big Brown to race the colt as a 4-year-old, as he’s done with Curlin. He downplayed comments by Big Brown’s trainer, Rick Dutrow, made in the wake of last Sunday’s Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, that Big Brown is a better horse than Curlin. "I think it’s bad for racing to have trash talk. I think it’s unethical in the football arena and other sports. What you have is an attempt to show the animals at their best. And to run down another guy’s horse…isn’t the right thing to do. Yes, I’d love to meet (Big Brown). it would be great for the industry and the fans. May the best horse win."

Curlin’s owner made the announcement during a teleconference hosted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Jackson used the teleconference to sound off on other issues, including what he called an inequitable split on simulcasting and account wagering revenue, where the least amount of money goes to the track where the live race is being run. Jackson also called for a "league" or series of races for older horses that he said, if accomplished by 2009, could convince him to keep Curlin in training and forego his stud career for another year. "That’s a concept that’s attractive," he said, "but the devil is in the details. It’s very preliminary."

Jackson also commented about the uncertainty of artificial surfaces, such as the Pro-Ride track at Santa Anita Park, which have been mandated by the California Horse Racing Board. He said he encouraged Frank Stronach to replace the Cushion Track synthetic surface at Santa Anita with a conventional dirt track, but understood that the CHRB ruled prohibited that. "Until we as an industry get our hands around artificial surfaces and get more consistency, we have a great deal of fear about injury," he said. "And most handicappers feel it is an unreliable true surface with respect to early speed and closing speed. Owners don’t want to risk a great horse being beaten because or the surface."

More than 15,000 fans voted in a poll at Jackson’s Stonestreet Farms Web site on wear he should run Curlin next. Fifty-one percent voted for a turf campaign, 33% for dirt, and only 10% for synthetics, with 6% advising Jackson to retire Curlin."

"We did it for the fun of it," Jackson said. "Steve Asmussen and I are fully confident to make a decision, but I was having fun with that because I wanted to engage the fans. I was looking at the turf heavily and I hope I don’t disappoint them because I’m going to the dirt. The results reflected a lot of passion for the horse."

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report