Curlin To Race In The Dubai World Cup

Posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008

Horse of the Year Curlin will open his 4-year-old campaign by racing in the world’s richest race, the $6 million Dubai World Cup, on March 29. A victory against top thoroughbreds worldwide in the Dubai World Cup would go a long way in elevating Curlin’s status as one of horse racing’s brightest stars.

Curlin’s majority owner, Jess Jackson, announced Monday that Curlin is headed to Dubai in United Arab Emirates this month to begin training. Jess Jackson, who also founded the Kendall-Jackson Winery and owner of Stonestreet Stable, has said all along he hoped Curlin would race this year rather than be retired to stud for tens of millions of dollars.

“It comes down to the fact that Curlin has earned the chance to compete in the Dubai World Cup and has the opportunity to continue to make history as an international champion,” Jackson said in a statement. “The horse’s greatest moments and best efforts may still lie ahead.”

“We want exactly what the race stands for,” Curlin trainer Steve Asmussen said. “That’s how I hope that others will feel about him–that he’s the best horse in the world. I want others to feel about him the same way I do.”

Curlin has won six of nine career starts for earnings of $5.1 million. Curlin had a sensational 3-year-old campaign, winning the Arkansas Derby, the Preakness Stakes, the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic en route to capturing Horse of the Year honors last month.

He was second to the filly Rags to Riches in the Belmont Stakes, third behind Street Sense in the Kentucky Derby and third behind Any Given Saturday in the Haskell Invitational.

Curlin has been training at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, and was scheduled for a Tuesday worout. The plan is for the son Smart Strike to be shipped to Dubai on February 15, and train for a prep race at Nad Al Sheba on February 28, setting him up for the 1-mile Dubai World Cup a month later.

Steve Asmussen’s assistant, Scott Blasi, will accompany Curlin and several other horses to Dubai while Asmussen tends to his huge contingent of horses in the United States, including Kentucky Derby prospects Pyro and Z Fortune.

Asmussen said Curlin seems to run better when he’s familiar with his surroundings, and a month between races is ideal.

“The horse likes to know where he’s at,” Asmussen said. “His second race at Belmont (the Gold Cup) was better than his first (the Belmont), and his second race at Monmouth (the Breeders’ Cup Classic) was better than his first (the Haskell).”

Jess Jackson, who has an 80% interest in Curlin, hopes his colt will give racing a needed boost. I deeply care about improving the state of thoroughbred racing as well as the horse industry in general,” Jackson said. “We, as the owners of Curlin, are trying to do our part to help.”

Midnight Cry Stable, operated by William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr., owns the remaining 20% interest in Curlin. Both men are in jail on charges of defrauding clients in a settlement over the diet drug fen-phen, and their ownership remains in question.

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"Curlin To Race In The Dubai World Cup" was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Middle East Horse Racing, Stakes Races. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.