Some interesting news today comes from the Dubai World Cup, where Curlin took first for trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Robby Albarado.

While the results of this race were not a major surprise - after all Curlin was the 4-11 favourite - there are still some interesting aspects of this race that deserve mention.

In this race, Curlin was never much further than a length behind the early leader, Well Armed.  At two furlongs to go, Curlin took charge and established a significant lead - finally beating Asiatic Boy by seven and three-quarter lengths.

Afterward, jockey Albarado commented: “He’s such an amazing horse and I’m proud to be around him.  It went as well as expected - I was just a passenger, I just get all the glory.  This is an unbelievable experience, at the very top of the list.”

Some interesting notes about Curlin (students, get out your journals) - in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last October, he won in the slop.  In light of that, it is fairly significant that Curlin also won in the Dubai desert.  In comparing racing conditions, it’s apparent that Curlin is fairly versatile, and can perform in at least these two  very different environments.

Others in the race all essentially admitted that they had expected Curlin to run strong in this race.  Even De Kock accepted that Curlin was likely to best Asiatic Boy. 

“The best horse won.  I was always honestly aiming for second, but dreaming that we might win.  Curlin would have had to have had an off-day for us to win.”

And with that reflection from De Kock - we end today with this final note:

As De Kock notes, there could have been conditions where Curlin might have had an off-day, and Asiatic Boy could have won.  This is an impoortant point, as are many of the comments made following a race by both trainers and jockeys.  It is very important to take careful note of what they say - because no one knows the horses, the tracks, and the various racing environments - better than they do.