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Curlin arrives in Dubai with ‘pep in his step’
After enjoying a flight “that couldn’t have gone any better” in the words of assistant trainer Scott Blasi, Horse of the Year Curlin arrived in Dubai on Sunday evening and settled comfortably into a spacious stall in the quarantine area of the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse backstretch.
When dawn broke on Monday morning, the son of Smart Strike was alert and bright as he stretched his legs with a walk around the barn and received a bath. Curlin was to stay in quarantine for 48 hours before getting his first feel of the Nad Al Sheba dirt track on Wednesday as he prepares for his initial start of 2008, a $175,000 race on February 28 that is part of the Dubai International Racing Carnival, and then the Dubai World Cup (UAE-gr. I).
“Curlin is pretty smart—he knows he’s here to do something,” Blasi said. “He’s got quite a bit of pep in his step, so I’ll be anxious to get him to the track.”
The four-year-old son of Smart Strike is eating well, but Blasi noted that the robust colt typically has a strong appetite. “He’s a good doer. He didn’t get that big by not eating,” he quipped, adding, “He looks really good.”
Curlin’s regular exercise rider, Carmen Rosas, also made the trip to Dubai, along with Blasi’s pony, Poncho, who is enjoying his Dubai accommodations near his famous Thoroughbred companion.
“Right now Poncho thinks he’s died and gone to heaven,” Blasi said. “He’s got a stall the size of a paddock.”
From the time Curlin and Poncho arrived at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, airport on Saturday, Blasi said everything about the trip went exceptionally well. It took little time to load and depart, and a refueling stop at the Stanstead Airport in England was brief and uneventful.
“My hat’s off to whoever orchestrated all this,” Blasi said, praising the Janah Management Co. Ltd. of Newmarket, England, which dispatched skilled traveling groom Chris Webster to help tend to Curlin.
Blasi said Curlin is scheduled to breeze early next week before the race, which will be contested over 2,000 meters. Jockey Robby Albarado is due to arrive in Dubai on February 26, and trainer Steve Asmussen, who sent out the 4,000th winner of his career on Sunday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, will arrive the following day.
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