Think what you want. I'm just telling you what I was hearing, and what I was talking to trainers about.

BTW, if AGS was just rushed, if that was it, then how come all the other horses like Curlin and Hard Spun were able to run like they did in the Derby...

I don't know, but I don't think that Todd Pletcher rushes his Derby horses...

UNC is the Harvard of the South. LOL

There is no hope

Curlin and Hard Spun had a tougher campaign than Any Given Saturday at that point in time.

If anyone was rushed, it was Curlin.

So, in your lifetimes ( I am assuming at some point in you timeline of existances you were also Ghengis Khan ) of racing wisdom you have also come to the conclusion that all horses are the same.

Spin that one Dr. Welby.

ERA.....


Curlin confirmed for Dubai World Cup and local prep

The connections of American Horse of the Year Curlin have accepted the challenge of meeting the best from around the globe in the US$6 million Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) in hopes of proving that their horse is the undisputed king of racing.

“We want exactly what the race stands for,” trainer Steve Asmussen said on Monday. “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.”

Principal owner Jess Jackson agrees. In a statement released on Monday confirming the Dubai plans, he said: “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. The horse’s greatest moments and best efforts may still lie ahead.”

Asmussen said he plans to ship Curlin to Dubai on February 15, with arrival the following morning. Assistant trainer Scott Blasi, who has overseen some of Asmussen’s previous Dubai runners on their trips to the United Arab Emirates, will accompany Curlin.

If all goes well with the trip, Asmussen intends to prep the four-year-old son of Smart Strike in a 2,000-meter race on the dirt on February 28 during the Dubai International Racing Carnival at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. The month between that race and the Dubai World Cup seems to fit Curlin’s ideal pattern of accomplishment.

“I love the month between the races, a la the Jockey Club Gold Cup (Gr.1) and the (Breeders’ Cup) Classic (Gr.1),” Asmussen said, referring to Curlin’s final two victories of 2007. “The quarantine stuff will be out of the way and he’ll have a month to get ready for the big race.

“The horse likes to know where he’s at,” he added. “His second race at Belmont (the Gold Cup) was better than his first (a close runner-up effort in the Belmont Stakes [Gr.1]), and his second race at Monmouth (his smashing Classic victory) was better than his first (a third in the Haskell Invitational Stakes [Gr.1]). If it’s there in black and white like that, I believe it’s true.”

Curlin is set for a workout on Tuesday morning at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. When asked how the muscular chesnut is doing following a month of serious training, Asmussen laughed with delight.

“Like he’s a deserved Horse of the Year,” he said. “He’s all that and a bag of peanuts.”

Curlin has won six of nine career starts, including the classic Preakness Stakes (Gr.1), and placed the other three times, earning $5,102,800. Both Asmussen and Jackson are keenly aware that success in a seasonal campaign that includes the Dubai World Cup with its winner’s prize of $3.6 million could propel their horse past Cigar as the all-time earnings leader outside of Japan. The winner of the inaugural Dubai World Cup in 1996, Cigar amassed more than $9.9 million.

Jackson, who owns 80% of Curlin with the Midnight Cry Stable holding the remaining 20%, said he hopes Curlin can become a hero in the sport during his 2008 campaign and help with overall marketing and promotion of Thoroughbred racing.

“I deeply care about improving the state of Thoroughbred racing as well as the horse industry in general,” he said. “We, as the owners of Curlin, are trying to do our part to help. Fellow owners and I have joined others in the industry in a broad-based (American) effort to elevate the industry in a variety of ways, and this campaign is one of the more visible.”

FTFY

Do you think his nose grew when he said this?

They are racing him there because of the purse....and I don't think anybody would blame them for that. However, the rest is pure and simple Trainerspeak.....and no sane person ever believes that.

I highly doubt any reasonable judge of talent doesn't already believe he is the best dirt horse in the world.

They aren't, but that doesn't mean that I am wrong about Any Given Saturday.

Oh just because i posted it doesn't mean I believe it.

Best dirt horse in the world? :D

Yeah we'll see about that on WCD.

I can't wait to hear the excuses.....

I think that Duke is...but UVA and UNC are the two best public schools on the east coast. I very well may go to the Harvard of public schools. I don't know. All I know is that we have the 2nd best med school in the country, and that we are in the top 5 public schools in the country. I think the next one on the east coast is UF, but it is ranked way behind UVA and UNC.

I understand.

Personally, while I wouldn't suggest that I know the individual horse, and perhaps the idea of getting him situated is a good one, but in a general sense I won't be surprised when it backfires.

However, whether you like Assmussen or not, he has done a good job with this horse. Now, good horses make trainers look good, and maybe that's simply the case here, but it's imossible to criticize Assmussen's overall handling of this horse so far. He broke all the " rules " and made it work.

I am guessing your opinion on schools is rivaled only by your horse opinion.

It's not an opinion. I''m just spewing information from the national rankings...

I'll post a link if you would like...

NO?????

I do this all of the time too:)

Curlin's a beast, but Asiatic Boy is just as freaky on dirt IMO. With a successful comeback at a distance too short for him, Asiatic Boy could be the horse to beat in my eyes. I think there's very little separating Curlin, Premium Tap, and Asiatic Boy right now. Looks to be a great race.

UNC is certainly one of the best academic institutions (among public schools) in the country. As much as I detest their hoops team, she is absolutely right about that.
Where have you been kentuckyrosesinmay? I think I honestly speak for everyone on here when I say this board is a lot more.......interesting.......when you are a regular poster.

Yeah - you must be a scroll wheel salesman or something....

She is wearing out mine in this thread.

Theres actually a lot separating Premium Tap, Curlin, and Asiatic Boy. Anyone who has watched those 3 horses run know its not Curlin who needs to improve to be competitive.

Well you tell me, how will we ever approach the heights reached by 2007's "Thread of the Year" without some of the.......um......."insights" on display here?

He'll be the 1st American horse entered for the World Cup that has stayed that long and run in a trial race for the big race. The Dubai World Cup handbook actually strongly advises that a horse arrives in the country at least 4 weeks before the race. A piece of advice that has been routinely ignored by American trainers up till now.

It's hard to believe that American connections have ignored the advice of an operation that has ruined as many talented horses as Godolphin.

I hear ya.

A board needs its tards.

Not doing that seemed to work okay for: Roses in May, Pleasantly Perfect, Silver Charm, Captain Steve, Invasor, and Cigar.

You just set yourself up for someone to take the "yeah, but what did they do after the Dubai World Cup?" opening.

And that can only lead to one thing....

More wear on my scroll wheel.

Yes, but tell me, what exactly did those horses do after the World Cup?

you know what they call the fellow who graduates last in his class at med school???















doctor

Let me be more specific.......


















Kentuckyrosesinmay

I'd say odds are she doesn't make the cut.

They just couldn't resist...

You can always do after school stuff to get the grade.

I've come to this conclusion after watching years and years of MyFirstSexTeacher mpegs.

Don't diss the sacred basketball team!!! :D Too bad Ty just sprained his ankle and might not be able to play against Duke. DUKE vs. UNC = best college basketball games ever!!!

I've been in California, in Georgia, in Virginia, riding horses, and busy at the sacred college. I figured that it was best if I left the board for awhile. Plus, I was getting a lot of race horse action elsewhere. Oh, and I am glad you enjoy the entertainment. I live to serve.

Sorry, back to how Curlin is going to beat up on everyone at Dubai....

have you always gone by kentuckyrosesinmay ?

btw.. John McCain
the dems love him

Yeah

I have a story to tell. One of my friends purchased a 75,000 dollar horse from a Florida sale. He was a strapping chestnut colt, a Graded Stakes caliber colt. When this colt first raced, there was some buzz about him because he broke his maiden first time out as a three year old by four lengths under a strangle hold. The jock never asked him to run, and was actually holding him back down the stretch. In his next start, he's not moving as pretty and gets beat, but finishes second. He came back with puffy ankles, and has never been the same since. The trainer is very careful with the colt, but is constantly battling the horse's puffy ankles. Yet, the colt still wins races in quite the company because of the careful management. Sometimes, in a race, he even looks back to his old self, but the front bandages tell the story. However, a lot of races, he hasn't moved as pretty as he once did. It is amazing what a little bit of rest, ice, front bandages, and joint injections will do.... However, this cycle never continues because eventually the damage becomes too severe to continue. The horse either gets turned out and, with time, gets better, or is done racing.... The most careful and talented trainers can usually get at least a couple of good races out of the horse under these conditions or can keep the horse going for awhile if the horse has plenty of time in between starts.