The Champ #1 in the World
 

Curlin. The undisputed Champion of all divisions.

Amen..............................:tro:

The presence of Sudan and Mission Approved

Are you talking about a soccer game or cricket match? I'll take the Congo. Surely this post has nothing to do with horse racing.

Spyder

what is the post time of this race?

5:15 EST

good thread.:rolleyes:

Rivoting stuff

Maybe this adds to the excitement.

Attachment 886

I too see this race as somewhat paceless, so Sudan should lead to atleast the top of the stretch, I've always been fond of Better Talk Now but I really see him up against it today without his pacesetter. This race looks like a perfect set up for Curlin, I don't see why he shouldn't handle the turf and if he can he should have first run from the true contenders. Red Rocks is a wildcard, despite his BC win I always thought he was a notch below the top europeans, he will take money mainly due to his reputation.

There are actually quite a lot of horses who won G1s on the dirt and turf since 1985.

Wrong was I.

Hmmm........

Curlin can run on the stuff.
It may not be his forte, but considering he was
asked while going wide on a turn, the foot speed
was just not there at the end.

That was a very tough race to figure out
exactly what to do with the runoff pair setting that thing up.

I say he makes a go again on the stuff. 2nd place to
a former Breeders Cup champ.

Rewatching from the head on he had a bit of a bobble when asked.
And he was damn tired after that. Hmmmmm.

Much Better dirt horse.
The only way Curlin would have a shot in the world's greatest turf races would be to exploit a slow paced group of horses as the lone speed. He can't cruise with top turfers and outkick them late.

But boy was that cool seeing Curlin run on the grass today. Aesthetically pleasing.

i thought he ran a nice race yesterday. he was asked to go a little bit to early IMO. a race like this should help his fitness level for his next try on grass. i don't think he'll be ready to go to france. had they started working him on grass earlier in the year instead of going to the dubai, maybe.

What was the penetrometer for the track ?, What was track rating ? Fast, Good,dead, slow heavy:confused: Looked like good 2 to me, I dont know how you rate your tracks,
As for a outsiders view he still has a chance on turf ,weather does play alot on turf tracks & while the front 2 wouldn't have made a difference as good jocks rate how they are going by the furlong not by the speed of the front runners he did make a few critical errors first he came out 4 wide on the bend & unless its been raining & there is a dryer run out further you can lose 1/2 a sec just on that i would still like to see another run on turf before i would call it quits preferebly against class english & french horses maybe a group 3 would be a good way to go:cool:.
I would be changing the jock too Kerin/dettorri /Damien Oliver are masters on grass but would suck on dirt if you have the best why not use the best for the situation

The track was firm. . .

Here's what they say about it, To me just another way to bag a great horse:mad:

Curlin Raises New Doubts On US Strength
by Mike Hedge : 7/14/2008
English galloper Red Rocks has raised new questions about the standard of American racing by giving the horse ranked No.1 in the world an old-fashioned hiding.
Red Rocks, who has performed only moderately at home since winning the 2006 Breeder Cup Turf, beat the World Champion Curlin by two lengths in the Group 1 Man O’War Stakes at Belmont on Saturday.
The win left trainer Steve Asmussen in a less-than-affable mood and is likely to torpedo plans for Curlin to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
While Red Rocks has shown good ability, he finished only sixth at his previous start in the Coronation Cup at Epsom behind Soldier Of Fortune.
The defeat which came after Curlin’s Dubai World Cup win and a hollow first-up victory, could be down to the horse’s inexperience on grass.
Curlin was making his first attempt away from the dirt tracks he was brought up on and connections are hoping his performance was down to inexperience on the new surface.
His owner, Jess Jackson took some consolation in the reception his horse had received.
“It was a great race for the fans and this is part of what we are trying to do,” Jackson said.
"We just didn’t see that late kick from him today.
"I don’t know if that was because he is still getting used to the turf or what. My feeling right now is that he needs another turf test.
“I’m disappointed, but this is not a setback.”
While Red Rocks is capable of producing the goods on his day, the concern for the Curlin camp was that he only held off the veteran Better Talk Now by a half length to keep second.
The shock defeat of the 2-5 favourite follows the dismal performance of America’s other boom horse, Big Brown, in the Belmont Stakes at the same track last month.

I wouldn't say Curlin's loss was a shock defeat, and I certainly wouldn't mention Big Brown.