Think what you want. I'm just telling you what I was hearing, and what I was talking to trainers about.

BTW, if AGS was just rushed, if that was it, then how come all the other horses like Curlin and Hard Spun were able to run like they did in the Derby...

I don't know, but I don't think that Todd Pletcher rushes his Derby horses...

UNC is the Harvard of the South. LOL

There is no hope

Curlin and Hard Spun had a tougher campaign than Any Given Saturday at that point in time.

If anyone was rushed, it was Curlin.

So, in your lifetimes ( I am assuming at some point in you timeline of existances you were also Ghengis Khan ) of racing wisdom you have also come to the conclusion that all horses are the same.

Spin that one Dr. Welby.

ERA.....


Curlin confirmed for Dubai World Cup and local prep

The connections of American Horse of the Year Curlin have accepted the challenge of meeting the best from around the globe in the US$6 million Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) in hopes of proving that their horse is the undisputed king of racing.

“We want exactly what the race stands for,” trainer Steve Asmussen said on Monday. “That’s how I hope that others will feel about him—that he’s the best horse in the world. I want others to feel about him the same way I do.”

Principal owner Jess Jackson agrees. In a statement released on Monday confirming the Dubai plans, he said: “It comes down to the fact that Curlin has earned the chance to compete in the Dubai World Cup and has the opportunity to continue to make history as an international champion. The horse’s greatest moments and best efforts may still lie ahead.”

Asmussen said he plans to ship Curlin to Dubai on February 15, with arrival the following morning. Assistant trainer Scott Blasi, who has overseen some of Asmussen’s previous Dubai runners on their trips to the United Arab Emirates, will accompany Curlin.

If all goes well with the trip, Asmussen intends to prep the four-year-old son of Smart Strike in a 2,000-meter race on the dirt on February 28 during the Dubai International Racing Carnival at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. The month between that race and the Dubai World Cup seems to fit Curlin’s ideal pattern of accomplishment.

“I love the month between the races, a la the Jockey Club Gold Cup (Gr.1) and the (Breeders’ Cup) Classic (Gr.1),” Asmussen said, referring to Curlin’s final two victories of 2007. “The quarantine stuff will be out of the way and he’ll have a month to get ready for the big race.

“The horse likes to know where he’s at,” he added. “His second race at Belmont (the Gold Cup) was better than his first (a close runner-up effort in the Belmont Stakes [Gr.1]), and his second race at Monmouth (his smashing Classic victory) was better than his first (a third in the Haskell Invitational Stakes [Gr.1]). If it’s there in black and white like that, I believe it’s true.”

Curlin is set for a workout on Tuesday morning at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. When asked how the muscular chesnut is doing following a month of serious training, Asmussen laughed with delight.

“Like he’s a deserved Horse of the Year,” he said. “He’s all that and a bag of peanuts.”

Curlin has won six of nine career starts, including the classic Preakness Stakes (Gr.1), and placed the other three times, earning $5,102,800. Both Asmussen and Jackson are keenly aware that success in a seasonal campaign that includes the Dubai World Cup with its winner’s prize of $3.6 million could propel their horse past Cigar as the all-time earnings leader outside of Japan. The winner of the inaugural Dubai World Cup in 1996, Cigar amassed more than $9.9 million.

Jackson, who owns 80% of Curlin with the Midnight Cry Stable holding the remaining 20%, said he hopes Curlin can become a hero in the sport during his 2008 campaign and help with overall marketing and promotion of Thoroughbred racing.

“I deeply care about improving the state of Thoroughbred racing as well as the horse industry in general,” he said. “We, as the owners of Curlin, are trying to do our part to help. Fellow owners and I have joined others in the industry in a broad-based (American) effort to elevate the industry in a variety of ways, and this campaign is one of the more visible.”

FTFY

Do you think his nose grew when he said this?

They are racing him there because of the purse....and I don't think anybody would blame them for that. However, the rest is pure and simple Trainerspeak.....and no sane person ever believes that.

I highly doubt any reasonable judge of talent doesn't already believe he is the best dirt horse in the world.

They aren't, but that doesn't mean that I am wrong about Any Given Saturday.

Oh just because i posted it doesn't mean I believe it.

Best dirt horse in the world? :D

Yeah we'll see about that on WCD.

I can't wait to hear the excuses.....

I think that Duke is...but UVA and UNC are the two best public schools on the east coast. I very well may go to the Harvard of public schools. I don't know. All I know is that we have the 2nd best med school in the country, and that we are in the top 5 public schools in the country. I think the next one on the east coast is UF, but it is ranked way behind UVA and UNC.

I understand.

Personally, while I wouldn't suggest that I know the individual horse, and perhaps the idea of getting him situated is a good one, but in a general sense I won't be surprised when it backfires.

However, whether you like Assmussen or not, he has done a good job with this horse. Now, good horses make trainers look good, and maybe that's simply the case here, but it's imossible to criticize Assmussen's overall handling of this horse so far. He broke all the " rules " and made it work.

I am guessing your opinion on schools is rivaled only by your horse opinion.

It's not an opinion. I''m just spewing information from the national rankings...

I'll post a link if you would like...

NO?????

I do this all of the time too:)