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Old 05-10-2007, 10:19 PM
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JDank34 JDank34 is offline
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Default Curlin

Am I alone in thinking these guys are crazy to run Curlin back in the Preakness? I understand with the $$$ paid to purchase him privately they wanted to take a shot in the Derby, and I also understand he is a talented horse, BUT he made his first start in February, and therefore will be making 5 starts in 15 weeks. If I owned this horse I would much rather freshen him a little and point for a Summer, Fall campaign, as I would rather try to win the Travers than the Preakness. Just seems if he doesn't finish "on his feet" next weekend he could be gone for quite some time.
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Old 05-10-2007, 10:32 PM
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The Indomitable DrugS The Indomitable DrugS is offline
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If he came out of the Derby well, they would be foolish to not run him in the Preakness.
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Old 05-10-2007, 10:49 PM
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JDank34 JDank34 is offline
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WHY?
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Old 05-10-2007, 10:53 PM
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The Indomitable DrugS The Indomitable DrugS is offline
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Because he is one of only three horses in the race with a serious chance of winning...and while soundly beaten by the top two last time out, he had a much tougher trip than the winner--and the 2nd place finisher is once again likely to get caught in a pace battle.
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Old 05-10-2007, 11:08 PM
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The Indomitable DrugS The Indomitable DrugS is offline
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There was nothing glaringly bad that happened to Curlin during the running of that race...

However, he broke far more flat footed than usual, he got squeezed back by Storm in May during the run into the first turn...he took a lot dirt in his face for the first time....he had sneaky trouble at the 3/8ths pole when he appeared to have a lot of run...but a few horses were stopping in front of him, and he simply had no place to go. And while he did pass horses once finally in the clear...it's simply unrealistic to expect a horse to go from a wire-to-wire debuting winner sprinting...to win the Kentucky Derby closing from 14th...in less than 100 days time

He gained something from that race, and with a clean break, he can be dangerous using his preferred stalking tactics.
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Old 05-11-2007, 12:53 AM
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Scurlogue Champ Scurlogue Champ is offline
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Curlin is the likely winner of The Preakness in my opinion.

I must agree that barring injury, they would be foolish not to run him. They bought him to race, and he very likely will win a Triple Crown race in the Preakness which will help recoup their purchase price and enhance his value.

On what grounds would you not run him?

Do you think 5 races in 15 weeks is really too much?

Let me add that in three of his four starts he essentially had a workout.

This horse basically has had one start. The Kentucky Derby
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Old 05-11-2007, 08:24 AM
MarkyD MarkyD is offline
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I never understood why send the 2nd and 3rd place KD finishers to the Preak.

They did their jobs in the Derby. It's the other horses that did not fire that day that should be pointed and have something to prove.
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Old 05-11-2007, 08:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkyD
I never understood why send the 2nd and 3rd place KD finishers to the Preak.

They did their jobs in the Derby. It's the other horses that did not fire that day that should be pointed and have something to prove.
Your assumption makes no sense--a horse that ran poorly should be immediately run back in a Grade I race, on two weeks rest? No one would buy that logic in any month but May (and I wouldn't buy it then). Seems like time to regroup for Saratoga, Del Mar and the fall to me.

Also, I don't think all the other horses "failed to fire"--some are just not good enough, period, while others are not suited to that distance.

If a horse ran badly but had a legitimate excuse (i.e. boxed in for good chunk of the race), then I have no problem seeing them run back. Otherwise, drop back and punt.
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Old 05-11-2007, 08:54 AM
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Cajungator26 Cajungator26 is offline
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I think Curlin has a great shot at beating Street Sense here...

Perhaps it's too much (and too soon), but if he came out of the Derby fine, why not take the chance?
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Old 05-11-2007, 09:02 AM
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The Indomitable DrugS The Indomitable DrugS is offline
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While it is true that he is being asked to do a lot of racing in a short span of time....

It should be said that he's been exceptionally undertrained in his workouts. I only saw his final two works leading into the Derby---and he was pretty much restrained throughout both of them.
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Old 05-11-2007, 10:27 AM
Slewbopper Slewbopper is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cajungator26
I think Curlin has a great shot at beating Street Sense here...

Perhaps it's too much (and too soon), but if he came out of the Derby fine, why not take the chance?
Exactly. He is a race horse. Run him. It is about time some of these horses actually set foot on the track against competition on a regular basis. As it stands right now, Invasor will be trying to win back to back HOYs with a total of 10 starts in two years. Outrageous. Citation ran twice that much in 1948 alone winning 19 of 20
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Old 05-11-2007, 12:11 PM
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King Glorious King Glorious is offline
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People need to understand that u can't bring up what horses used to do in the past and say that today's horses should be able to do the same. This is a different game and the horses are different.

I wouldn't run Curlin back in the race either. I'd much rather back off of him and regroup for the summer in races like the Haskell and Travers and Super Derby. Personally, I feel that the Travers is a more prestigious race to win than the Preakness or Belmont. And the purse and grade are the same. By that time of year, the ranks of the 3yo's have been severely depleted by needless runs in the Preakness and Belmont. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here but I think u have to go back to Thunder Gulch in 1995 to find the last Derby winner that ran in the Travers.

For all that are saying that if he came out of the Derby fine, two weeks is not too soon so why not, how often would u do that? Would u run him every two weeks for a year? Or at some point, would u take a break with him? The horse had a very condensed schedule to get him to the point that they got him so fast. Squeezing the lemon dry at this point would not be the right thing, IMO. If there was some kind of incentive, maybe the point bonus or if the purse of the Preakness was significantly higher than the late summer races, then maybe I could endorse it more. This is not 1948.
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Old 05-11-2007, 09:14 AM
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miraja2 miraja2 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JDank34
Am I alone in thinking these guys are crazy to run Curlin back in the Preakness? I understand with the $$$ paid to purchase him privately they wanted to take a shot in the Derby, and I also understand he is a talented horse, BUT he made his first start in February, and therefore will be making 5 starts in 15 weeks. If I owned this horse I would much rather freshen him a little and point for a Summer, Fall campaign, as I would rather try to win the Travers than the Preakness. Just seems if he doesn't finish "on his feet" next weekend he could be gone for quite some time.
I don't agree with you at all.
There is nothing outrageous at all about 5 starts in 15 weeks. What IS outrageous is that people (not just you....some trainers too) have seemingly come to believe that running in the Derby and the Preakness means a horse must rest for 5 months before running again.
In 1948 Citation ran in the 10f Jersey Stakes (and won) in between the Preakness and Belmont (both of which he won) and yet that taxing schedule did not prevent him from winning another NINE stakes races after the Belmont including the then 16f JCGC.
Now I am certainly not suggesting that Curlin is even remotely in the same league as a horse like Citation, but the point is....running in races two weeks apart does not have to ruin the rest of a horse's year. Curlin is one of the better 3yos in training this year. Years ago the best 3yos tended to run in a lot of the big 3yo races. To me.....that makes sense.
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