TRICKY TURF
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
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
It’s an easy call to me - why bother showing up for the Breeders’ Cup (especially in California over an untested surface) if the field is comprised almost entirely of American also-rans, when the option to take on the best in the world is on the table? Granted, I’d prefer more preps in France, given the factors you mention, but I don’t see much left Stateside for Curlin to beat on either surface (since the majority of horses who could have given him a test are all away at stud).
Smart Strike sires his share of good turf runners…and perhaps American breeders might wake up and notice that sticking to dirt alone is quite limiting (although there are certainly plenty of American-bred horses running in Europe — even if it seems they are all by Kingmambo). It also sends a reminder that the whole point of the breeding game should be racing. If Curlin needs to go abroad to find real competition (and it seems he does), that should help highlight the current disconnect.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:49 am
“It’s not an oval course like every American track”
Kentucky Downs is laid out like a European course although it does have left hand turns
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 am
I think I will have to agree with Superfecta on this one. Certainly the decision to take Curlin to Europe is one that presents a lot of challenges, but I think if he can run creditably in the Arc that will do more to enhance his worldwide reputation than beating a few horses here. I applaud the decision and hope it is well rewarded. I just wish he was coming to Canada for his prep race here!
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:17 am
I applaud the decision to try turf with Curlin. While it might not be a good bet from a stallion/value standpoint, it is a swing at greatness. I’d rather root Curlin home in the Arc than watch him demolish the depleted US handicap ranks at 1-to-5. The Breeders’ Cup is less than four months away and we don’t even know what the track surface will be like for our championship day!?
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:20 am
I agree with Superfecta all the way.
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Andre Fabre has won seven Arcs: Trempolino, Subotica, Carnegie, Peintre Celebre, Sagamix, Hurricane Run and Rail Link. He is the greatest trainer in the world at the moment. He has been champion trainer in France 21 times almost consecutively (I think he was beaten one year by Pascal Bary). He is currently second on the trainers’ table behind Jean-Claude Rouget, but with Deauville and the Arc meeting yet to come I would expect him to be champion again this year. He will have picked out his Arc horse in the spring, ante-post punters would kill their own mothers to know which horse in his stable he thinks might win it. Anyway, sorry to be pedantic about ‘Napoleon’s’ Arc record.
I can see why you’d be disappointed not to have Curlin showcasing his talent in America - personally I can’t wait to seem him in Europe. The Arc always looks to be an amazing race around this time of year and often (but not always) disappoints. I hear that Asmussen hates synthetic surfaces and that’s the main reason why Curlin won’t run at Santa Anita - is that true?
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:29 pm
A few points: While the Arc is indeed run clockwise, we run in all directions here - left, right and straight, so please don’t generalize about Europe.
Second, I agree with the point that the going on Arc day will mostly likely be yielding if not softer. We don’t run on the “pavement” you guys call turf in America.
Third,Curlin will never come. In France, he will have to actually run drug free for the first time in his career, and I don’t think it’s worth the risk to his connections. I know the Dubai rules SAY meds aren’t allowed on race day, but anyone with any connection to Dubai knows better.
I’d love to see him in the Arc, but my money says it will never happen. And if it does, he can’t win, for all the reasons above. (Plus the point made earlier - Fabre will pull something out on Arc day.)
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Why is it that we cry ourselves hoarse, begging for a horse and concomitant owner to shrug off the siren song of the breeding shed and to throw their proverbial hat in the ring, yet we deride them when they do just that?
Curlin’s accomplishments on dirt will not be tarnished by his jaunt on the grass. For those that would criticize him, I have no time. Greatness is forged in adversity.
What hope does Curlin have in the Arc? Probably a fool’s hope…
Fortune can, for her pleasure, fools advance, and toss them on the wheels of Chance.
-Juvenal
July 4th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
“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 all respect, Mr. Paulick, isn’t it pretty obvious that Jess Jackson’s main concern right now is racing his horse, and that breeding is secondary? And shouldn’t we be applauding the fact that he has this attitude? Many of the great moments in our sport came about because people took chances and did things that didn’t make sense.