Curlin, the leading candidate for 2007 Horse of the Year, arrived at Fair Grounds Nov. 27 following a van ride from Churchill Downs, but his racing future is still undecided.
A 4 1/2-length winner in the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic-Powered by Dodge (gr. I), Curlin is not immediately scheduled for active training, and will walk the shed under tack for now, according to trainer Steve Asmussen.
Curlin's majority owners are Jess Jackson and George Bolton, but embattled attorneys William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham, Jr., of Midnight Cry Stables also have a 20 percent interest in the 3-year-old colt. Because both are currently jailed on charges of taking millions of dollars awarded to plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit concerning the diet drug phen-fen, Curlin's racing future remains cloudy.
Asmussen has guided Curlin’s racing career since just after the Smart Strike colt’s maiden victory at Gulfstream. He brought him to Fair Grounds early last season, eventually shipped him to Oaklawn to win the Rebel Stakes (gr. I) and Arkansas Derby (gr. II), and then saddled Curlin to capture the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I) prior to the Classic.