Curlin: Difference between revisions
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'''139th Belmont Stakes''' |
'''139th Belmont Stakes''' |
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Curlin was the even money favorite in the [[Belmont Stakes]]. He engaged the champion [[filly]], [[Rags to Riches (horse)|Rags to Riches]], in a lengthy stretch duel, but was |
Curlin was the even money favorite in the [[Belmont Stakes]]. He engaged the champion [[filly]], [[Rags to Riches (horse)|Rags to Riches]], in a lengthy stretch duel, but was beaten by a nose at the wire. |
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== 2007 Season == |
== 2007 Season == |
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Revision as of 20:26, 4 November 2007
| Curlin | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Smart Strike |
| Grandsire | Mr. Prospector |
| Dam | Sherriff's Deputy |
| Damsire | Deputy Minister |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 2004 |
| Country | United States  |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Fares Farm Inc. |
| Owner | Racing partnership: Midnight Cry Stables, Padua Stables, Stonestreet Farm, George Bolton |
| Trainer | Steve Asmussen |
| Record | 9: 6-1-2 |
| Earnings | $5,102,800 |
| Major wins | |
| Rebel Stakes (2007) Arkansas Derby (2007) Jockey Club Gold Cup (2007) American Classics / Breeders' Cup wins: Preakness Stakes (2007) Breeders' Cup Classic (2007) | |
| Last updated on 08:47, Saturday October 19 2024 (UTC) | |
Curlin (foaled March 25, 2004 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 2007 Preakness Stakes. One of the favorites among North American bettors to win the 2007 Kentucky Derby, Curlin placed third in the race behind winner Street Sense. Prior to the 2007 Derby, Curlin had been unbeaten in three starts.
Curlin was sired by Smart Strike, a former star from the Sam-Son Farm racing team in Ontario, Canada and a half-brother of 1991 Canadian Triple Crown winner, Dance Smartly. He was out of the mare Sherriff's Deputy, a daughter of Canadian Horse of the Year and two-time North American Champion sire, Deputy Minister.
The colt was named for Charles Curlin, an African-American slave from western Kentucky who fought for the Union Army with the United States Colored Troops in the American Civil War. One of his original owners, Shirley Cunningham, Jr. through his interest in Midnight Cry Stables, is Charles Curlin's great, great grandson.
Ownership
Kentucky-based class-action lawyers William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. bought Curlin for $57,000 as a yearling through their Midnight Cry Stable. They sold controlling interest (80%) in the horse in February 2007 for a reported $3.5 million to a group composed of Jess Jackson, founder of Kendall-Jackson wines; Florida software entrepreneur Satish Sanan's Padua Stables; and George Bolton, an investment banker from San Francisco.
Since August 2007 Gallion and Cunningham Jr. have been in jail in northern Kentucky pending trial on charges of conspiring to commit wire fraud involving $46 million in misappropriated funds while representing more than 400 people in the suit over the diet drug fen-phen.
On November 1, 2007 Boone County, Kentucky, Judge William Wehr ruled the 20% interest in the colt owned by Gallion and Cunningham Jr. would be turned over to the more than 400 persons involved in a lawsuit over the diet drug fen-phen.[1]
Jess Jackson Majority owner of likely Horse of the Year Curlin claims the recent order handed down by a Kentucky judge only affects the minority interest of embattled attorneys William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr.
An attorney representing Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Stables issued a statement Nov. 2 clarifying the position of the owner-partner.
"The order ... entered by Judge (William) Wehr in Boone County circuit court applies only to the 20% interest in Curlin owed by Mr. Gallion and Mr. Cunningham through Tandy LLC. That entity has done business using the name Midnight Cry Stables," Lexington-based attorney Richard Getty said. "The order has absolutely has no effect in the other ownership interests in Curlin, none of which have been sold."
Getty declined to comment further, other than to say: "We are evaluating the overall situation."
An attorney representing a limited liability company that includes embattled attorneys William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. claims his client’s ownership interests in likely Horse of the Year Curlin is still intact, and is not in the hands of 400-plus plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit settlement.
Attorney Andre Regard, who represents the Tandy LLC entity that is doing business as the Midnight Cry Stables interest Gallion and Cunningham share in Curlin, said Nov. 3 that contrary to what rival attorney Angela Ford believes, her clients in the fen-phen settlement lawsuit have no claim to ownership in the colt.
“The Charging Order does not affect the actual ownership of Curlin in any fashion,” Regard wrote in an e-mail concerning the order issued Nov. 1 by Boone County (Ky.) Circuit Court judge William Wehr. “The Order states that the judgment creditors will be treated as assignees of Tandy LLC as to any cash distributions made by the Company. This means that if Tandy LLC distributes cash or assets to members of the LLC, to the extent cash or assets are distributed to Cunningham or Gallion, then the judgment creditors may be eligible to receive them.”
“The judgment creditors do not have title to any assets of the company and no role in the management of the company.”
3-year old race start
Unraced at age two, in February of 2007 Curlin won a seven-furlong maiden race for three-year-olds by 12 ¾ lengths at Gulfstream Park in Florida after which he was purchased by a racing partnership headed by majority shareholder Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Farm. Originally owned by Midnight Cry Stables, who maintain a share, the new partnership also includes Padua Stables and George Bolton. Curlin went on to race at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas where in March, jockey Robby Albarado rode him to victory in the Rebel Stakes, and, in mid April, in the Arkansas Derby. Very impressive in every start, his winning margin in his three races adds up to 28 1/2 lengths.
2007 Triple Crown chase
133rd Kentucky Derby
Much anticipation existed with Curlin and also the rare wins a horse in his position faced. To date the last horse to win the Derby with just three lifetime starts was in 1915, when it was captured by Harry Payne Whitney's Hall of Fame filly, Regret. Also, the last horse to win the Derby without having raced at age two was 125 years ago, when Apollo won the 1882 edition.
Regardless of those historical facts, Curlin was established as the morning line favorite by Churchill Downs official handicapper Mike Battaglia at 7-2. He was the second betting favorite when the race went off. Breaking from post number 2 in the full field of 20 starters, Curlin finished 3rd behind Street Sense and Hard Spun.
132nd Preakness Stakes
Curlin won the 2007 Preakness Stakes on May 19, beating the Kentucky Derby winner and favorite Street Sense by a neck. Curlin stumbled out from the gate but was able to maintain his balance. Street Sense took the lead around the 3/16 marker when Curlin made his move. He fought Street Sense neck-and-neck the rest of the way and pulled out in front at the wire to win by a neck with a time of 1:53.46, tying the record set by Tank's Prospect in 1985 and Louis Quatorze in 1996.
139th Belmont Stakes
Curlin was the even money favorite in the Belmont Stakes. He engaged the champion filly, Rags to Riches, in a lengthy stretch duel, but was beaten by a nose at the wire.
2007 Season
Curlin was sent off as the favorite but placed third in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on August 5, 2007, behind Any Given Saturday and Hard Spun, paying $2.10 to show on a fast track. The winning time was 1:48:35.
Ridden by Robby Albarado, on September 30, he beat Lawyer Ron by a neck in a stretch duel in the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in a time of 2:01:20 with a Beyer rating of 114, earning him an automatic berth into the Breeders Cup Classic.
Breeders' Cup Classic
On Saturday October 27, 2007 Curlin went off as the 4th betting favorite in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Held at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey, the track conditions were listed as sloppy on the main track after several days of rain.
Emerging from about midpack in the field of nine, Curlin overtook the pace setter Hard Spun at the top of the stretch and drew away to win the 24th running of the Classic by 4½ lengths over second place finisher Hard Spun. A much anticipated match up between Street Sense never materialized as Curlin passed him before the final turn. Street Sense ultimately finished a well beaten fourth in what was the final race of his track career.
The race was just the eighth time that a 3-year-old took the Classic. The chestnut colt covered the 1 & 1/4 mile distance in 2:00.59, which is considered a fast time on a sloppy track, earning a Beyer rating of 119. The Monmouth track record is 2:00.40 set in 1962 by Carry Back.
With that victory, most pundits expect him to be voted the Eclipse Award for Champion Three-Year-Old Male, as well as Horse of the Year.
References
- April 16, 2007 Churchill Downs website article titled Unbeaten Curlin Emerges As Strong Favorite In Final Pool Of '07 Derby Future Wager
- BloodHorse May 3rd 'Curlin Moderate Morning Line Favorite for Kentucky Derby'
- Curlin's pedigree and racing stats
- NTRA Stats & Bio
- SI Haskell Win
- Sports Illustrated October 27, 2007 "Curlin wins Breeders' Cup Classic"
- BloodHorse November 1, 2007 "Judge Rules Interest In Curlin Turned Over to Plaintiffs"