On Curlin, Better Talk Now and Other Matters

With the news that Curlin is skipping this weekend's events in Louisiana to head over to Dubai early (more on that later), Grasshopper has stepped up to contest the Mineshaft in his absence; Better Than Bonds will also be making an appearance in that race. Most eyes will be on the three-year-olds, though, in the Risen Star. Steve Asmussen contributes Pyro and Z Fortune to the mix; Blackberry Road and Visionaire could hit the board as well, although I’m not sure they are in the same class at this point. I did contemplate putting both Blackberry Road and Visionaire in my Road the the Roses stable, but finally left them off (for now); usually, that’s a sign they are about to become very competitive. Let's not forget the distaff side either – Indian Blessing should be back in the Silverbulletday as well. Of course, there's becoming very competitive and staying very competitive – in that category, stalwart Better Talk Now (left) is set to make his nine-year-old debut in the Fair Grounds Handicap, with a view to moving on to Dubai for the Sheema Classic. Did I mention we're friends? But back to Curlin's trip to Dubai – I have mixed feelings, and not just about the 'they're never the same after the trip' received wisdom. On the one hand, I know that the Dubai competition will be much tougher than the Breeders' Cup level, and I can see Asmussen's point: "The horse likes to know where he's at,'' Asmussen said. "His second race at Belmont (the Gold Cup) was better than his first (the Belmont), and his second race at Monmouth (the BC Classic) was better than his first (the Haskell)." On the other, it would have been nice to see him start in the US, just so fans could get a chance to see him – especially since his role as a symbol for fans to rally around is much mentioned by Jess Jackson: "I deeply care about improving the state of Thoroughbred racing as well as the horse industry in general," he said. "We, as the owners of Curlin, are trying to do our part to help. Fellow owners and I have joined others in the industry in a broad-based (American) effort to elevate the industry in a variety of ways, and this campaign is one of the more visible." I would like to know who the 'others' mentioned are and what exactly their goals are...but I digress. If he wins and comes back to an exciting campaign later this year, fantastic – but there's always that concern that he'll be sold in a handshake deal while he's abroad. There's good news in breeding land; Fleet Indian had a healthy Storm Cat colt, Behaving Badly foaled a Bernardini colt and Teuflesberg has recovered well enough to head to Hurricane Hall to start his new career. Well done to all of them.