Curlin cruises in Dubai World Cup prep

There is little to say about Curlin’s return to competition – that word used in the strict academic sense – at Nad Al Sheba, in Dubai, on Thursday except that the American handicap division is destined to be a one-horse race.

Curlin’s prep for the Dubai World Cup was little more than a paid workout during which he was reserved at every stride by jockey Robbie Albarado while toying with a laughable field.

The other prominent three-year-olds of last season are retired, leaving Curlin to face the decidedly ordinary remnants and older holdovers from what was and remains a sparsely talented group, as illustrated by the large but uninteresting fields assembled for the Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park Handicaps on the weekend.

Despite Albarado’s strangle hold and a ride that made no effort to save ground, Curlin ran 10 furlongs in 2:00.60, a solid effort for most horses, and scary from one never permitted to extend himself.



Daaher returns to Aqueduct

From the Dubai Racing Club

Dismissing Daaher’s disappointing performance in the Donn Handicap (Gr.1), trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is giving the four-year-old son of Awesome Again another chance to earn his way to the Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) program.

McLaughlin and the Shadwell Stable team of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum have chosen Saturday’s US$75,000 Stymie Handicap over 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct as Daaher’s shot at redemption as well as an entry in either the Dubai World Cup or the Godolphin Mile (Gr.2).

Although Daaher, who had won three consecutive races including the Cigar Mile Handicap (Gr.1) before being embraced as a strong favorite in the Donn, faded badly in that event, McLaughlin said nothing was found wrong with the colt in subsequent examinations and blood tests. Thus, he said he attributed the sub-par performance to either the Florida heat or the Gulfstream Park track, a surface that Shadwell’s classic winner Jazil also did not relish.

"We had some funny thing happen (at Gulfstream), so let's take the track and the weather out of the equation,'' McLaughlin told Daily Racing Form. “Even though the race Saturday is not graded, it's just for us to see if we can go to Dubai. That's why we're doing it.''

Earlier, McLaughlin had considered the Gulfstream Park Handicap (Gr.2), also on Saturday, or races in Louisiana or Arkansas on March 8 that involved extensive shipping and seemed to be too close on the calendar to the Dubai World Cup program on March 29 and the long plane trip in between.


Stevens: Where’s my cut?

Henry Hudson, the U.S. District Judge in Richmond, Va., who presided over the Michael Vick dogfighting case not the dead explorer, is the judge of record for a lawsuit filed by retired jockey turned television analyst Gary Stevens against a Virginia-based company that sells horse feed.

Stevens filed the suit against Southern States Cooperative, Inc., claiming it used his image on feed bags without his authorization. The suit says Southern States used a photograph of Stevens on its Legends Feed brand.

Southern States has denied the image is Steven, whose' lawyers say the three-time Kentucky Derby winning rider is entitled to profits from sales of the feed plus damages to be determined. If the case is not resolved, the trial before Hudson has been set for June 30.

Aqueduct: Feb. 29

Leap-year day. Close the books on February. Nothing of interest at the Big A.