Curlin returns today in the Woodward at Saratoga

[two gun sid]

From the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram:
Curlin will race Saturday at Saratoga and Big Brown won’t. And that fact distinguishes not only those two horses from each other but also much of what’s right from much of what’s wrong in racing.

Many, perhaps most, of the best American horses of the last century raced at Saratoga. The country’s oldest racetrack, it is to racing what Yankee Stadium is to baseball.

And so it’s richly apposite that Curlin will race there Saturday, in the $500,000 Woodward Stakes. The race’s history includes Secretariat, Kelso, Forego, Buckpasser, Dr. Fager, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Alysheba and Cigar. The history includes, in other words, many of the greats, and it will soon include Curlin, and so, yes, his racing there is rich, for he’s racing with history.

The Kentucky Derby winner, on the other hand, will race next month in a made-for-Brownie turf stakes at Monmouth Park. Curlin races for history and tradition, he races for all those fans who have hung banners and decorated storefront windows welcoming him to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Big Brown races for, well, everything else.

http://www.star-telegram.com/808/story/869597.html

Woodward Past Performances:
http://www.brisnet.com/bris_link/pdfs/darley_122711.pdf

[Awsi Dooger]

1. Doesn't seem right to have the Woodward at Saratoga

I guess they need a big closer so the meet isn't dead after the Travers. But I'll always think of the Woodward at Belmont, and in October not August.

[two gun sid]

2. First Defence wins the Forego in 1:21.55

[two gun sid]

3. Curlin wins in 1:49.34

Past The Point 2nd, Wanderin Boy 3rd. Wins by a length and just grinds it out. Past The Point set the pace and hung on real tough and made the Champ work for it. But that's what really good horses do. They win the tough ones.

[Awsi Dooger]

4. Hardly overwhelming

Final eighth of that race was crawled, nearly 14 seconds.

[two gun sid]

5. Maybe Curlin is getting a little tired...

I liked the effort. Last race on grass, returns to the dirt and it wasn't a horrible final time. He's still the best in the world until someone can outdo him.

The 'Canes next weekend in Gainesville? I'm dreading it. I'm just glad I'm in MI and don't have to listen to the Gator fans. They're a lot easier to take when they are over 1000 miles away.

[Awsi Dooger]

9. Canes are a fragile team

Talented but very young. I'm not sure they wouldn't have been better off with a bye last week. Right now the players think they played a game. They did not. It's going to be a system shock early the next game when the opponent is warp speed superior to Charleston Southern.

The Miami message boards have been crawling with Gator fans for months. Normally they ignore those Miami boards and FSU fans have friendly chatter with Canes fans. But right now the Gators are smelling a bloodbath so they have established obnoxious presence early.

Curlin was okay. When he made the lead I thought he would draw off with more authority. He actually seemed to shorten stride at the end and the margin decreased, if anything. Maybe it was the jockey's influence. I didn't watch the replay, clicking back to the USC game.

[two gun sid]

10. I watched the replay several times

and he did shorten his stride. I'm not sure why. It looked to me like the jock just let him be at the finish. Just my opinion though. He did go awful wide in the turn like he wanted to bear out a little. Hmmm. Still, I think it was a good race for him. He did what he had to do and he beat his biggest opponent yesterday, the Spa itself, the Graveyard of Champions.

[bread_and_roses]

12. Well, given the time in the first 3/4

...and wasn't Curlin just about three lengths back during most of that? Just thinking that he couldn't have been moving much slower than the leaders. Why push him to win by more than he had to?

What was the temperature in Saratoga? I watched from home on TV, but when during the post parade the commenter said that a lot of the horses had gotten very hot (though not Curlin, who was in a light sweat, according to her) I looked to see what the weather was supposed to be there. Said high 70's, if I remember. But there was a quick shot of Curlin right after the race being sluiced down as if it were really hot there. Just curious.

[aaronbees]

6. Champ got the job done

Wasn't real pretty, but Curlin did it. It looked like he'd win by daylight when he motored up 'round the final turn. I hope he goes to the Jockey Club Gold Cup next. Scratch that ... send him to the Goodwood for a synthetic prep! (Fat chance of that.)

[two gun sid]

7. I hadn't thought of the Goodwood....

that would be a good place for him, aaronbees. I've got a thing about the Gold Cup being the race that all the good horses should point to, like a BC Classic prep race or something. I love that Gold Cup and it has a history of some real dandy races. The Goodwood would really be the place for Curlin though.

I still wanna see how that big brown moo cow does against Curlin.

[aaronbees]

8. I'd love to see it too

Both camps in the Big Brown/Curlin standoff are lame. No reason BB couldn't have raced today at Saratoga. No reason Curlin should skip the BC Classic. I agree with you on the Gold Cup as its history is rich, but I think Assmussen and Jess Jackson should try the Goodwood to see if Curlin takes to the fake stuff. If it doesn't work, go to the Japan Cup and/or some other Gr. I races.

[two gun sid]

11. Jackson was out after the race pushing for a meeting between

Curlin and BB. Rich old white guys talking smack is kinda lame but we need someone to generate some buzz for the sport.

You guys getting any bad weather yet?

[aaronbees]

13. We're okay now ... looks like the Gustav remnants will be heading near us...

and I'd imagine it's a tropical storm/depression by then. We'll get some rain and wind. Rita rumbled through as a tropical something in '05, and it was just a nice, misty rain with wind gusts. Kind of a pleasant day, actually, if I remember right. I'd expect this to be fiercer if Gustav comes close. Great time to go looking for a new car, eh?

I'll believe it when I see it on those two smack talkers. The fact a BB and Curlin meeting is so unlikely at this point just gets me less enthused. A match race would be an idiotic idea; going that route would be meaningless.

[two gun sid]

14. Well, stay safe my friend...

let us all know how you make out. Good luck with the new car hunt.