CURLIN WINS.....CURLIN WINS!!!!!!!!!!

[madelyn]

Far and away, it was Northern Dancer.

[Maven]

Ditto.

[wilf]

I don't know much but I can read a race! Hard Spun was given his head way too soon, Street Sense has the best accelleration but obviously needs holding up until very late to make his run and Curlin is a big goof with extraordinary talent. I am sure that Calvin would like to ride that race again, however it was a great race to witness and a good time was had by all. The Sunday Silence/ Easy Goer duel down the stretch wins any contest for a spectacle of classic Preakness finishes and please let's not talk yet about mixing it with Invasor...........really!!

[skeenan]

cannot recall a horse finding another gear at the finish like that

It was impressive, I thought... it took me a second to figure out on TV who it was, but there was no mistaking the speed in which he was passing horses... boy, what a rush it must be for the jockey, to feel a horse grab another gear like that!

[llbean]

More congratulations, Larrygene, on the Curlin pick. He beat some very good horses on a perfect day with nobody getting a bad trip or bad ride. IMO. With a first and a third in the triple crown series, another good showing at the Belmont might go a long way towards Horse of The Year and certainly 3 yo of the year. This may have been his best distance as others would seem to be more suited for the 1 1/2 mile. He is a fine example of outcrossing with no inbreeding in the first 5 generations. The closest is 4 x 6 to Native Dancer. And yes, it truly was a very exciting race.

Hi Jagger,

Speaking of Outcrossing within 6 generations, I don't know if you saw it already but the strongest evidence yet in favor of the benefits of outcrossing within 6 gens was recently published here:

http://www.pedigree.me.uk/Articles/COI.htm

If you need any help on interpreting what it means, let me know.

-llbean

[Pete]

Hi Bean,

Thanks for the link.
I added the percentages for a better frame of reference. I assume that Adrian has an overweight of better performers (@4.5% group/graded winners is higher than in North America) but that really doesn't change the results.

< 0.5 2856 48656 51512 5.54%
< 1.0 2351 47983 50334 4.67%
< 1.5 1380 29643 31023 4.45%
< 2.0 718 15614 16332 4.40%
< 2.5 492 10777 11269 4.37%
< 3.0 207 4644 4851 4.27%
< 3.5 139 3023 3162 4.40%
< 4.0 133 3217 3350 3.97%
< 4.5 74 1938 2012 3.68%
< 5.0 25 750 775 3.23%
< 5.5 16 361 377 4.24%
< 6.0 10 190 200 5.00%
< 6.5 5 229 234 2.14%
< 7.0 13 471 484 2.69%
< 7.5 5 300 305 1.64%
< 8.0 0 135 135 0.00%
< 8.5 1 76 77 1.30%
< 9.0 1 25 26 3.85%
Total 8426 176458 184884 4.56%

Breakdown under 1.0
COI Group Others Total
< 0.1 513 7833 8346 6.15%
< 0.2 540 8306 8846 6.10%
< 0.3 638 10314 10952 5.83%
< 0.4 546 10929 11475 4.76%
< 0.5 619 11274 11893 5.20%
< 0.6 572 11230 11802 4.85%
< 0.7 547 10374 10921 5.01%
< 0.8 428 9593 10021 4.27%
< 0.9 400 8772 9172 4.36%
< 1.0 404 8014 8418 4.80%
5207 96639 101846

Regards,

Pete

[larrygene]

Please let me brag just a little!!!! I told you Curlin was special, I didn't know how special, nor did his connections at the time of the Derby. But, today, kind of vindicates my statemants after the Arkansas Derby about what a great horse Curlin is!!

CURLIN IS HOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CURLIN WINS!!! CURLIN WINS!!!!

Larrygene

[Rokeby Forever]

Congrats, Larry - you certainly tabbed him early.

[Des]

Hats off to Larry Jones and Hard Spun....Well done campaign...He was criticized for running in the 7 Furlong Grade 1 at Saratoga.....He certainly ran a heck of a race...He should attract many good mares at stud....

Curlin was simply AWSOME...Ears flat in the strech and he was all business

[Toccet02]

Sorry to make you brag first Larrygene...I stopped by here again to point out that you had him way early.

Congrats!

[geowarrior]

I always knew that Curlin had heart in spades, but I thought it might not be his day because I wasn't sure he'd get round the tight turns, and he is so big I wasn't sure about turns plus slop. Yet he moved so easily - he is a clear champion. We should remember when complaining about the slop that both Hard Spun and Street Sense had previously run on wet tracks and had done o.k. At Saratoga it was the heat, at Del Mar it's the weirdo track, the other night at Los Alamitos, it was the strong headwind. We get weather everywhere, track variation everywhere - champions have to overcome that.

Hard Spun is a great horse too. Had he been pointed at different distances and surfaces he might have won everything in sight, and even though he was not placed in the best spots (IMO) look at his record - 2nd in the Derby, 3rd Preakness, 4th Belmont, won his G1 in the King's Bishop, and second in the Classic. There are so many things left for Hard Spun to try if only he could come back next year. But what's left for Curlin to do?

[Barbaro06]

Curlin can work on being champion older horse next year! I wonder if they would try him on the turf....

[xfactor fan]

How about making Curlin the posterboy for NOT racing at two? His connections should get lots of credit for waiting till he grew up and into himself. Let's see if he stays sound and wins back to back Jockey Club cups.

[Barbaro06]

Well back in the day two-year olds were brought out to race in the late summer and fall. I recall not seeing them on the track in March or April...they were still getting schooled. Nowadays they are gunning for the big day at the end of October...and in order to get there, they are sent to the races earlier and earlier.

JMO

[larrygene]

Thanks guys for the compliments. But, what makes it so much fun is to see and recognize the tremendous natural talent Curlin has and to watch him grow and mature into a very, very good racehorse. I will not knock his trainer nor his owners because whatever they have done otherwise someone recognized raw talent and greatness when Curlin was just beginning his career.

After yesterday I certainly believe with the performances of Curlin and English Channel, Smart Strike has shown what a great and versatile sire he has become. He deserves the increase in his fee to $150K.

Friday and Saturday were great racing days inspite of the weather. I for one came away with a big smile on my face and a tear in my eye. RIP GW. And can't wait until next year to pick the next Curlin. LOL

Larrygene