2007 Horse of the Year Curlin to Race in 2008

by Steve Davidowitz | Jan 23 2008

Sunshine Millions at Gulfstream and Santa Anita? Saturday, January 26.

A Column by Steve Davidowitz
January 23, 2008

There were no real surprises when the American Eclipse Awards were given out in Beverly Hills, California on Monday, January 21. And if you read my January 2 tongue- in-cheek-column ---'Nostradamus, I am Not', --- it was fairly obvious that the owners of 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin were going to announce that the newly turned four-year-old will race again in 2008.

This is good news for racing, good for racing fans and even good for ESPN, which is eager to add major races for older horses to their aggressive television schedule of Triple Crown prep stakes.

The announcement was made at the Eclipse Awards by 80 percent owner Jess Jackson, who did not take the views of the 20 percent owners into account. Those 20 percent owners---William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham, both lawyers---remain in a Kentucky jail awaiting criminal trial for their alleged roles in the fen-phen fraud case. So far, the case has also brought 418 civil claims on Curlin's earnings to recover an estimated $42 million in losses and damages. Of course Curlin cannot earn anywhere near that sum on the racetrack, but while the claims on final ownership are in limbo, Curlin's potential as a mega-million breeding prospect is also on hold, which opened the door for Jackson to keep him in training with Steve Asmussen.

That said, Jackson insisted that his final decision to allow Curlin to do what he was born to do-compete at the highest levels---was based mostly on his desire to help the sport. Good for him; good for us.

In addition to his Horse of the Year title, Curlin also took down the Eclipse as champion three-year-old over Kentucky Derby winners Street Sense and Hard Spun. Both horses played leading roles in a star-studded three-year-old season that featured Haskell stakes winner Any Given Saturday and the Eclipse Award-winning three-year-old filly Rags To Riches, who defeated Curlin in a memorable Belmont stakes.

Rags To Riches was in fact the second place vote in the Horse of the Year balloting of credentialed turf writers and racing officials. Here's the complete roster of 2007 Eclipse Award winning champions and their most impressive credentials:

Two-Year-Old: War Pass…Unbeaten season including an easy score in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Two-Year-Old Filly: Indian Blessing…Unbeaten season including a similarly dominant score in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Three-Year Old: Curlin…Won Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby, Preakness Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup and a convincing win in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Three-Year-Old Filly: Rags to Riches…Won four Grade-1 stakes including a game score over Curlin in the Belmont Stakes to become first filly in 102 years to win that prestigious 1-1/2 mile Triple Crown race.

Older Male: Lawyer Ron…Won the Oaklawn Handicap, the Whitney Handicap and the Woodward Stakes before losing a close decision to Curlin in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Outpolled defending Horse of the Year Invasor, whom I voted for on the strength of his world class victories in the Donn Handicap at the $6 million Dubai World Cup. Was injured and prematurely retired with only one loss in a spectacular career.

Older Female: Ginger Punch…Won three Grade-1 stakes including the Breeders' Cup Distaff to clinch the title over once beaten Nashoba's Key.

Male Sprinter: Midnight Lute…Won the Grade-1 Forego at Saratoga with the year's highest Beyer Speed Figure, (124) and his last to first win by open daylight in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Female Sprinter: Maryfield…Won the Grade-1 Ballerina at Saratoga and the newly created $1 million Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Turf Male: English Channel…Won the United Nations Handicap, the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf.

Turf Female: Lahudood…Won the Flower Bowl Invitational and the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Steeplechase Horse: Good Night Shirt…Won the Grade-1 Lonesome Glory and the most important Colonial Cup to supplant the ten-year-old, three-time Champion McDynamo.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher…Broke his own earnings record with $28.1 million, including a record 54 graded stakes victories, most notably the Belmont Stakes v by Rags to Riches for Pletcher's first score in a Triple Crown race. I voted for Carl Nafzger for his superb work preparing 2006 Juvenile Champion Street Sense to win the Kentucky Derby and for his work with Lady Johanna, who won the prestigious Alabama stakes with similarly brilliant horsemanship. I also voted for Larry Jones in second position for his spectacular work with Hard Spun. I put both Nafzger and Jones above Pletcher and Steve Asmussen because they were guilty of major drug violations. I personally do not believe any trainer deserves to be recognized for Eclipse Awards if he or she were caught using illegal drugs. (I did vote Pletcher third, because his violation was not severe, while Asmussen, who had an amazing year, nevertheless served a six month suspension for a pair of major drug violations.)

Jockey: Garrett Gomez…Clearly the best jockey in America in 2007 with 41 Graded stakes victories and $22.8 million in seasonal earnings. Narrowly lost this Award in 2006.

Apprentice Jockey: Joe Talamo. . Clearly the best apprentice rider in America with $10.7 million in earnings and 174 victories. Finished 2007 as one of the top riders in the rejuvenated Southern California jockey colony.

Owner: Shadwell Stable…Topped the owners in overall purse earnings with $7 million and campaigned Invasor and champion Lahudood.

Breeder: Adena Springs…Frank Stronach's powerful breeding operation whose offspring included Champion Ginger Punch and the winners of 18 Graded stakes.

SUNSHINE MILLIONS UPDATE

Although most horseplayers are anticipating the bi-coastal Sunshine Millions on January 26 to provide many good wagering opportunities, the four Sunshine Millions races scheduled for Santa Anita could be (A) transferred at the last minute to Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, or (B) cancelled. This sudden change of venues could be forced by the threatening weather that is forecast for Southern California. As we saw earlier in the meet, Santa Anita's synthetic Cushion Track cannot handle water-at least until the Pro-Ride polymers from Australia are put into the track to assist drainage.

Should the weather not become a problem and Santa Anita's races go on as scheduled, they will be run on the extremely fast racing strip that has produced several track and world records. As noted in two recent columns (see archives), none of the time records mean anything and some horses absolutely will not run their best on such a hard racetrack.

If, however, the Santa Anita races are moved to Golden Gate Fields, players should expect relatively typical racing on the Tapeta synthetic track that has had no drainage problems and has played fair since opening day.

For a closer look at the eight Sunshine Millions races-four at Gulfstream Park and four at Santa Anita (or Golden Gate)--- please see the analysis provided by Dave Tuley and yours truly elsewhere on the Bodog horse racing page.

Added Notes: Two very rich and important Handicapping Tournaments are scheduled for Las Vegas this week:

* The three day Horseplayer World Series at The Orleans (January 24, 25 and 26) has an expected gross purse of about $700,000, with approximately 700 participants, including winners of qualifying tournaments and those who bought in directly for $1,000 apiece.

* On Friday and Saturday, January 25 and 26, the final round of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association-Daily Racing Form National Handicapping Championship will be held at the Red Rock for a total purse in excess of $1 million. There is no direct buy-in for this tournament. The field of approximately 280 players is made up exclusively by those who won seats in qualifying tournaments. The NHC tourney will be televised live and on tape by the satellite racing network, TVG.

Steve Davidowitz has written two highly acclaimed books on Thoroughbred racing---Betting Thoroughbreds and The Best and Worst of Thoroughbred Racing. He also is a regular contributor to Daily Racing Form's Simulcast Weekly and DRF Plus and his columns appear in the Bodog Racebook each week.