Jockey Club Gold Cup S. (gr. I)
(gr. I , 10f ,)
CURLIN
(CH h,
126
lb) $450,000
Smart Strike —Sherriff's Deputy , by
Deputy Minister
B—Fares Farm Inc,
KY.;
O—Stonestreet Stables LLC;
T—Steven M. Asmussen
Wanderin Boy
(CH h,
126
lb) $150,000
Seeking the Gold —Vid Kid , by
Pleasant Colony
B—Arthur B. Hancock III,
KY.;
O—Stone Farm;
T—Nicholas P. Zito
Merchant Marine
(B g,
126
lb) $75,000
Tiznow —Head East , by
Gone West
B—Pollock Farms,
KY.;
O—Peachtree Stable;
T—H. Allen Jerkens
Margins: ¾, 3¾, 7¼. Others: Mambo in Seattle 122($37,500) , Ravel 126($22,500) , Stones River 122($5,000) , A. P. Arrow 126($5,000) , Angliana 126($5,000) . Winning Jockey, Robby Albarado.
With his three-quarters of a length victory over Wanderin Boy in the Sept. 27 Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I), Curlin further cemented his place in the history books by breaking CigarÕs North American earnings record. The 4-year-old Smart Strike colt has now earned more than $10.2 million.
ÒBeating CigarÕs financial record is a very big part of CurlinÕs legacy, but only because people in our society are more focused on dollars than they should be,Ó said majority owner Jess Jackson in the week leading up to the race. ÒThe fact is Curlin, on his own merit, is a great horse. To be compared to Cigar is just a great honor.Ó
Trained by Steve Asmussen, Curlin has won 11 of 15 starts and has never been worse than third in his career. He has seven grade/group I victories to his credit, including the 2007 BreedersÕ Cup Classic Ð Powered by Dodge (gr. I) and this yearÕs Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-I). He was named Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male last year.
JacksonÕs Stonestreet Stables owns 80% of Curlin, while the remaining 20% is owned by Bill Gallion and Shirley CunninghamÕs Midnight Cry Stables. Trainer Ken McPeek bought the colt for $57,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale on behalf of Midnight Cry, and after Curlin won impressively in his first start, majority interest in him was sold to Jackson, Padua Stables, and George Bolton. Jackson has since bought out the other partners.
Fares Farm bred Curlin in Kentucky out of the unraced Deputy Minister mare SherriffÕs Deputy, and he is the 14-year-old mareÕs first stakes winner. The only living foal the mare has produced since Curlin is a yearling Saint Liam filly.
Kept at Fares Farm near Lexington, SherriffÕs Deputy was barren to Smart Strike for this year but is currently carrying a full sibling to Curlin.
Smart Strike is the sire of 55 stakes winners including additional 2008 added-money winners Communique (gr. IIIT), Fabulous Strike, Cenzontle, Bluehard, Mulmur (in Canada), and Tungsten Strike (in England). The 16-year-old son of Mr. Prospector stood the 2008 season at Will FarishÕs LaneÕs End Farm near Versailles, Ky., for a fee of $150,000.ÑA.H.D
