Asmussen is the master of understatement. I remember last year during the Triple Crown a reporter asked him if Curlin was the best horse he had ever trained. “That would be an accurate statement,” he replied. And as to what makes Curlin special he said, “He runs faster than they do.” Here’s a guy who I am sure is aware that he may never even see, let alone train, a horse of this caliber again. I’d be jumping out of my skin shouting from the mountain tops, and Asmussen is cool as can be.

As for Jess Jackson; you just don’t buy a potato farm, plant grapes, and become a billionaire by accident. The guy is in obvious awe of Curlin and hopes to cement the horse’s place in history, but he isn’t going to make stupid decisions along the way. Along with Asmussen, he has masterfully guided Curlin through a virtually unheard of carreer. Remember, that maiden victory is still only 20 months in the past. Twenty months and ten million dollars.

Not only have they guided Curlin beautifully, they have been engaging in an ongoing, public dialog with IHEA stables, owner of what most people believe is Curlin’s main rival, Big Brown. Jackson has never spelled out a solid long-term plan for his star, choosing instead to always use the one-race-at-a-time approach while insisting that the horse will “tell us” what is next. For six months he has down-played the idea that Curlin would go to California for the Breeder’s Cup Classic, contested this year on a synthetic surface. “Been there, done that” and “unknown surface” have been terms repeated over and over by the Curlin camp. They’ve even floated ideas that Curlin may go elsewhere, like France or Japan, instead of trying to repeat in the Classic.

Therein lies the clues that these are two men to be avoided at the poker table. While they were nearly coming out and saying that Curlin would not contest in the Classic, Michael Ivarone of IHEA and trainer Rick Dutrow became more and more boisterous. The more it looked like Curlin would not run in the Classic, the bolder they got; stopping just shy of calling Jackson “chicken” and Curlin a “pretender.” At one point Dutrow even said “I don’t know why everone says Curlin is such a good horse. We’re way better than Curlin.”

That is fine trash talk, as long as you think you will never have to back it up.

A couple of weeks ago, Curlin won the Jockey Club Gold Cup for the second year in a row. The very next day, he arrived in California to begin his preparations for the Classic. Of course, Jackson still insists that he is not committed to running Curlin, that the “horse will tell us” what to do. Yeah, right. Jackson and Asmussen have proven over the last 20 months that they do not make rash, from the hip decisions, but they expect us to believe they decided AFTER the JCGC to send Curlin to California? I think the pilots were already doing their pre-flight checklists as Curlin was going to get saddled for the Gold Cup.

I think we all know that Curlin will be in the gate on Breeder’s Cup day. And now, I think Ivarone and Dutrow are starting to see it, too. I don’t know what to call it, but Jackson has done a reverse bluff on them. Instead of trying to convince them that his hand is better than it is, he’s done the opposite. He let them get big-headed and full of themselves, the whole time planning to knock them off. Brilliant.

Culin’s best two races were his ’07 Classic and his ’08 Dubai World Cup. Assmussen executes a training plan that culminates with his horse being at top form on the big days. I hope the cameras are ready on Breeder’s Cup day. We are going to see a horse for the ages.

I can see Jackson and Asmussen now, just a hint of twinkle in their eyes as the horses load. Jackson looks over at Ivarone and says, “Good luck.”

The answer to that last question (and almost all questions like it) is “Yes and No.”

We have to make these comparisons, though. After all, deciding who’s the best, fastest, richest and most talented is why we have sports in the first place. Competition drives us to determine a superior example of whatever interests us, whether it is who runs the fastest or who jumps the highest or who makes the most money.

It is difficult for us to properly compare Hall of Famer Cigar to future Hall of Famer Curlin. They compete in different times, over different tracks, with different training methods, and for different purses. Cigar raced 33 times, won 19 and banked $9,999,815. As of today, Curlin has raced 14 times, won 10 and has banked $9,796,800. Dollar advantage Cigar, win % advantage Curlin.

Of course, neither of those things tell the true story. Of Cigar’s 19 wins, 16 of them came in succession tying the North American record for consecutive wins. Quite extraordinary.  Curlin, on the other hand, went from Maiden to Preakness winner to Jockey Club Gold Cup winner to Breeder’s Cup Classic winner to Bubai World Cup winner in a little over 13 months. Freakishly extraordinary.

Money is one measure of a horse’s performance, but it can’t be the only one. Look at the movie industry. For some reason movies are ranked according to the total box office receipts with no adjustment for inflation over time. I once read that if the adjustment were made, Gone With The Wind would still be the number one movie of all time. I don’t know if that is true or not, but the point is made.

I wonder first if it matters about the dollar amount, and secondly how it would stack up if adjustments were made. Curlin will most likely lay claim to the top spot Saturday afternoon when it comes to total dollars. Cigar can still boast the record tying 16 wins streak.

Somewhere Citation is working away madly at his calculator.

The first order of business will be a slight restructuring of the podcast schedule. In speaking with a few advisors, I learned that it was probably a little too ambitious to start off offering two podcasts per week. Not only is it difficult to simply keep up that schedule, it is also a challenge to keep a twice-weekly podcast listenable. So, once a week it is. Without comitting at the moment, I am thinking that Thursday afternoon is the best time to release the show. That way, the upcoming weekend’s races are taking shape, and I can still reference the previous weekend without being too out of date. Of course, I’ll need to post regular blog entries here and there as well.

Today Jess Jackson announced that Curlin will make his next start in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont on September 27th. It is a great race, rich in history, that Curlin will be attempting to win for the second time. My only complaint about the race, which I bring up every year, is that it is very difficult for me to say “Jockey Club Gold Cup.” I suppose we are all luck that this is a blog post rather than a podcast.

I recently read some of the most informative handicapping information I have ever come across. Well, it’s not really handicapping information; it involves money management. Managing the “business end” of one’s handicapping is easily the most difficult part of this game. It is easily 50% or more of the recipe for success. I’ll post more about this topic as well as where I got it in a future post/podcast.

Thanks again to everyone who has been so patient with me during this time. The world keeps spinnin’ ’round, and I’ll try to cover our little portion of it the best I can.

What the heck does Curlin have to do to please some people? He is a winner of over $9 Million, has won 5 Grade/Group 1 Stakes including the Preakness, the Breeder’s Cup Classic and the Dubai World Cup, and has done it all in a racing career lasting (so far) a little more than 17 months. He’s won 9 of 13 starts and has never finished off the board. His tour-de-force in the Breeder’s Cup was a tick off the track record, and his World Cup vistory was by a record margin (which he accomplished with ease).

Then, yesterday, in one of the most sporting gestures we’ve seen in a long, long while, Jess Jackson tried his champion on turf for the first time. The result? A game second in the Grade 1 Man O’ War Stakes. He was beaten by a former Breeder’s Cup Turf Champion and finished ahead of another former Breeder’s Cup Champion. In doing so he acheived a Beyer Speed Figure of 104, which is tied for the 4th best turf figure of 2008. He performed tremendously against a good group of runners on their preferred surface.

You’d expect universal praise to reign down on Curlin. That is, unless you frequent horse racing forums. Then you’d expect the usual posts of “It’s over for Curlin” and “Curlin goes bust” and “Curlin turf experiment fails.” It is always easier for some to complain. I don’t get it.

I am still a huge Curlin fan. I made the trek to Churchill to see him, because I know I may never get to see a horse this great in the flesh again. I see them all on TV, but I wanted to see Curlin up close and he did not disappoint.

He walked in like he owned the place, and despite the yelling and cheering of the crowd, never turned a hair. The other horses in the paddock were unnerved by the crowd and had to be continually walked around the ring to keep them calm. Curlin waltzed lazily to his stall, turned around, and I swear he nearly fell alseep! They saddled him, he mozied to the track, stood around waiting for the gate to open, and then ran off to win by 4 1/2 lengths earning a Speed Figure of 110.

So, yeah, he got beat on the turf yesterday. So what? He certainly didn’t get embarrassed, and ran second to a very good horse who got a spectacular ride. While the rest of the racing community is finding fault, I am enjoying the time we have with Curlin. He’ll be gone before we know it.

At that time, I will look for the next star, and some will look for the next thing to complain about.

According to Bloodhorse.com, those are the words of trainer Rick Dutrow in the barn the evening of Big Brown’s recent Kentucky Derby victory. The big horse was tired, and rightfully so. He had just devastated the best horses his generation has to offer, all while making only his fourth start and doing it from the 20th post position.

A performance like that is bourbon for the imagination. Thoughts of a Triple Crown sweep immediately come to mind. If he accomplishes that, what heights might he reach? Could the sky really be the limit?

Well, maybe.

Post Triple Crown, our thoughts turn to the Breeder’s Cup. If Dutrow and the rest of Big Brown’s connections choose that route, they will undoubtedly run him in the $6 Million Breeder’s Cup Classic. Not only will he have to face older horses (possibly for the first time), but he may very well have to face the 2007 Horse of the Year; a big red horse named Curlin.

It’s too far off to speculate what that might be like. There is a lot of racing to be done between now and then. There is one thing that pops immediately to mind, though.

No one has ever seen a tired Curlin.