DUBAI WORLD CUP adiyat racing plus.com 15 ADIYAT RACING PLUS ISSUE 838 Thursday 21 st March 2024 CURLIN LOCKED HIS EYES ON EACH OF US THERE, ONE BY ONE, AS IF TO BE SURE WE WERE PROPERLY IN AWE. I WAS COMPLETELY DAZZLED. NEVER HAVE I WITNESSED ANY OTHER HORSE BE SO COMPLETELY UNFAZED AFTER SUCH A MAJOR WIN IN DEMANDING CIRCUMSTANCES. the World Cup programme, and HH Sheikh Mohammed intervened to ensure he received the care he needed: three stents in two blocked arteries. Yet Baffert, the winningest trainer in Dubai World Cup history other than Saeed bin Suroor, would not be kept away from race night and his horses, even though he appeared ashen and frail. Five years later, Baffert returned to achieve what is the most implausible Dubai World Cup triumph when trainee Arrogate, who looked hopelessly beaten after a poor start, circled the field to prevail in a move that was just like, as the trainer exclaimed jubilantly in the parade ring, the best of Secretariat. So many memories. Yet one Dubai World Cup week and its king stands above all for me; Curlin, 2008. Part of the allure stems from the way the statuesque hunk of a colt trained during the week before the race, like a thunderbolt waiting to be unleashed by Thor himself. On one foggy morning he emerged with his regal head raised high, seemingly assessing his fiefdom and attendant serfs before soaring effortlessly through his work. “He’s very smart. He knows what he’s here for,” trainer Steve Asmussen’s assistant Scott Blasi explained then. “He just has a tremendous amount of confidence; he just exudes it when he’s around other horses.” CURLIN PIERCED THE FIELD TO WIN Already a champion and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, Curlin sliced past 11 rivals in the 2008 Dubai World Cup, defeating UAE Triple Crown winner Asiatic Boy by a then race record seven-and-three-quarter lengths. Finishing well behind were two subsequent Dubai World Cup victors, Well Armed in third and 2010 winner Gloria de Campeao in eighth. But perhaps the most telling moments occurred in the Nad Al Sheba post-race stabling area, where Curlin strutted around a small ring, his head held high just as it had been that morning a few days prior. He never took a deep breath and only a few times did he reach for a sip of water. He locked his eyes on each of us there, one by one, as if to be sure we were properly in awe. I was completely dazzled. Never have I witnessed any other horse be so completely unfazed after such a major win in demanding circumstances. Curlin’s rumble through the 2000m on a sultry evening took very little out of this singular champion, who, of course, has gone on to sire the likes of Godolphin’s 2023 American Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish and Shadwell’s twice champion filly Malathaat. His Dubai triumph also marked the most meaningful landmark on the ascent of trainer Steve Asmussen, who now ranks as America’s all-time leader by wins with over 10,445 and who has since developed a series of champions including Rachel Alexandra, Gun Runner, Epicenter, Echo Zulu and Jackie’s Warrior. On that warm night in Dubai, Asmussen and Blasi watched Curlin cool out, with the trainer pausing several times to lift his young sons up so they could gently pat Curlin’s nose. Two of those three sons, Keith and Erik are now making their own marks as jockeys. Looking back, that Dubai night was a nexus for the sport, both in America and Dubai. Anyone who was there is so very fortunate to have seen the mighty Curlin. He was, and remains, truly unforgettable. Stay Gold (left)
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