Turning point time for Ride On Curlin
The time is now for Ride On Curlin. With a nice allowance sprint victory, followed by a second place finish in the recent Essex Handicap, both at Oaklawn Park this year, the son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin should be fully primed and ready to show the world what he can really do as an older horse. Owned by Dan Dougherty and trained by Billy Gowan, The bargain $25,000 yearling purchase is a fan favorite at the Hot Springs oval and will get the chance to send the fans home happy as part of a big race card on Rebel Stakes Day.
The Grade 3, $250,000 Razorback Handicap offers a good opportunity for Ride On Curlin, but also includes a solid field that will not make things easy for the rags to riches, Oaklawn favorite in gaining his initial stakes victory. Betting favoritism should fall to the Steve Asmussen trained Tapiture. The four-time graded stakes winner ran a career best last time when a good second to Goldencents in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. That effort came 4 ½ months ago, so there could be a little rust for the son of Tapit, who won the Southwest Stakes over this oval last year.
Others to look out for in the Razorback, include the improving Race Day, shipping in from Florida for trainer Todd Pletcher, the hard hitting veterans, Carve and Golden Ticket, as well as, the talented Californian gray, Midnight Hawk, representing the always dangerous Bob Baffert barn. A strong bunch to be sure, but if Ride On Curlin is at his best, they all could be running for second place money.
As one of only three horses to run in all three legs of last year’s Triple Crown series, Ride On Curlin furthered his national popularity. A tough trip, but fast finishing Kentucky Derby was followed by a good trip in the Preakness.
In the Middle Jewel, the son of Curlin loomed large turning for home, before unsuccessfully chasing the eventual Horse of the Year, California Chrome, down the Pimlico stretch. Still, the 1 ½-length defeat was a first class performance that saw him hit the wire more than six lengths ahead of the closest of the other eight Preakness runners. Still without a stakes win, Ride On Curlin was now officially on the national map.
“People really like this horse a lot, and they like to come out to see him,” said Gowan. “He’s almost a local legend and he’s an Oaklawn Park horse, that’s for sure. He’s got a lot of loyal fans and it’s fun. People are also nice to me at the same time, so I really enjoy it. “He’s good, real good. Now it’s just keeping him happy until Saturday.
Happy helps, but his fans are still waiting for that initial stakes win, and Hot Springs would be the perfect place to make the grade. There is more to the Ride On Curlin at Oaklawn Park story than his two recent starts. His lifetime record of 14-3-4-4, includes an excellent overall record in Arkansas of 6-2-2-2.
To be again ridden by Jon Court on Saturday, the rugged and classy individual ran well in all three of Oaklawn’s graded Kentucky Derby preps last year. He finished third in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes and the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes, before finishing second to Danza in the Arkansas Derby, the track’s signature event. All good efforts, but none were victories. Now is the time for Ride On Curlin; a turning point if you will. Will he always be a horse who comes close, but is never able to break through and win the big one, or is he now ready to take the next step in his career? I really like the chances for the latter. On Saturday, I believe in the Razorback, he is ready to finally become a stakes winner, a graded stakes winner, and take a legitimate spot among the best group of American four-year-olds in many years. Then it will be on to his first major target as an older horse, the $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 11.