Clark Handicap
Clark, sales, leftovers
Post-Thanksgiving traditions
The fall meet’s feature
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#1 – Dubious Miss
Gelding with girl’s name
Dirt looks like his third surface
Steps up at Churchill
#2 – Apart
Stablemate of Blame’s
Could be deja vu for Stall
Hot at the right time
#3 – Successful Dan
Rolls on the fake stuff
But he can ball at Churchill
Could collar leaders
#4 – Giant Oak
Illinois’ finest
Lacked killer instinct this year
Would love a class drop
#5 – Redding Colliery
A lead-grabbing colt
Solid in mid-level stakes
Live if he can last
#6 – Brass Hat
Popular geezer
Better efforts were on turf
Should take bettors’ cash
#7 – Stately Victor
A second-tier soph
Built resume on poly
Outlook’s not rosy
#8 – Win Willy
Gray Oaklawn hero
Faces his toughest challenge
Worth a ticket slot
#9 – Regal Ransom
Break on top or bust
Taking a chance with young jock
Won’t run off with it
#10 – Demarcation
Ack Ack runner-up
Big player in overnight stakes
Graded gets dicey
#11 – Duke of Mischief
Handicap stalwart
Capable of stealing one
In between cold snaps
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Who’s the Clark winner?
Apart separates from foes
Five, three behind him
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Look behind the jump for the Haiku Handicapper’s selections for Saturday’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct.
Curlin calls it a career…?
Assistant trainer Scott Blasi leads jockey Robby Albarado and Champion Curlin out of the paddock before the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs.
It’s official. At the end of the year, reigning Horse of the Year Curlin will be retired to stud.
This news has left me somewhat torn.
On one hand, I can not fault majority owner Jess Jackson for wanting to protect his investment. In these days of retiring any horse with a flash of talent after its three-year-old campaign (or in some cases, a decent two-year-old stand!), Jackson kept Curlin in the game and brought him to just about every dance while his rivals settled into their new careers.
Every time the Smart Strike colt set foot on a racetrack, Jackson put the big stinking paycheck tied to his star’s stallion potential in jeopardy. One bad step or dull effort would have taken huge sums of money out of Jackson’s pocket. But he still moved forward and Curlin did little else but reward him for his confidence. I have nothing but respect for the man and his respect for the sport.
At the same time, this does not stop me from wishing he would stay in training. When it comes to seeing the greats do their thing, I am a very greedy person; especially when the athlete in question is still sound of body, as I would assume would be the case with Curlin.
I must admit, I am a little biased in my position. As I have mentioned time and time again, I had the opportunity to watch Curlin race in person over the summer when he ran away with the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs. Because I was there to cover the race for the Thoroughbred Times’ website, I had the privilege of seeing the champ up close in the paddock, on the track and in the winner’s circle. I was less then three feet away from Curlin when I took the picture you see in this post, and I probably could have reached out and touched him during the post-race commotion if I were not so afraid of getting tackled by security.
I will share the full story of my Stephen Foster day at a later date, but for now I want to describe a couple observations about Curlin I largely formed from my few moments in his presence.
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Tagged as Churchill Downs, Cigar Mile, Clark Handicap, Curlin, Retirement