Fri Jun 13 16:33:06 2008

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Older thoroughbreds move into spotlight

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Now that the Triple Crown races have been completed, attention turns to the handicap division of thoroughbred racing. Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs the $1 million Stephen Foster Handicap begins in earnest the trek toward the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 1 1/8 mile Foster Handicap features reigning Horse of the Year Curlin with nine challengers set to take on the four-year-old. Curlin, trained by Steve Asmussen, will be making his first start since late March when he easily defeated 11 rivals in the $6 million Dubai World Cup.

"I'm very anxious to run him," Asmussen said on Thursday. "He's a very exciting horse to be around, and this is his purpose. He's very dialed-in. I think he's an absolutely gorgeous animal, but I'm biased."

The Stephen Foster will be Curlin's second career start at Churchill Downs. He finished third in the 2007 Kentucky Derby behind Street Sense and Hard Spun.

"Hes not a 'juvenile' as he was when I think (post position) came into play," Asmussen said. "He's a very seasoned animal. I'm very pleased with how comfortable he is with his surroundings, but he needs to run. The test is going to be how fast you are. Reputation doesn't win races, how fast you're going does."

Curlin is the 3-5 program favorite for Saturday's race and will carry top weight of 128 pounds. Turf specialist Einstein will carry 118 pounds, the second highest impost in the event.

"You plan on having success, that's why you do this," Asmussen noted. "I think most all of the time everybody's walking over there thinking they're going to win, that's why they're walking over there. But where do you go from here? Also, it's quite substantial to be giving 10 to 15 pounds to this quality of older horses. How much is enough? Weight matters, and how much matters. Everything has a point where it's not worth it."

With the ultimate goal being the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park, Asmussen is taking the same approach with Curlin as last year.

"I think that this is exactly the beginning of the second half of it, and I think you want to savor it as much as possible," Asmussen said. "That being said, I think the first half was decided and that went perfectly. So I think this is very exciting and this is the second half. We broke it up the same as last year, into two separate campaigns."

Two weeks later on the West Coast, the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup goes off at Hollywood Park. Three-time defending champion Lava Man is expected to go after win number four.

"This is his World Series, Super Bowl and NBA finals," said trainer Doug O'Neill of the Gold Cup.

Lava Man is coming off a third-place finish in the Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap on the turf, a race he won in 2006. The 2007 Gold Cup is the seven-year-old's last win, having been beaten last week in a photo-finish by Artiste Royal and Monznate.

"He was tenacious late in the race," O'Neill said following the Whittingham. "Obviously we wanted to win it, but like Steve (co-owner Kenly) said, now as the weights get a little more level, hopefully that will be the missing link. Actually, going 1 1/4 miles, being at the end of a 1 1/4 mile race, usually they don't have it."

The likely favorite for the Hollywood Gold Cup is Heatseeker, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. The five-year-old captured the Californian last month at Hollywood Park to push his 2008 earnings to more than $900,000. He is second to Curlin in the current NTRA National Poll.

"We gave him time off between the Oaklawn Handicap and this race (Californian). We had considered running in the Pimlico Special, but we just thought he needed a little freshening and it seemed to work," Hollendorfer noted. "He likes to train and he likes his workouts, so he came up to the race in real good shape. Right now the goal is the Gold Cup."

The possible field for the Hollywood Gold Cup looks like Lava Man, Heatseeker, Racketeer, Tiago, Surf Cat, On the Acorn, Perfect Drift, Student Council and McCann's Mojave.

The Breeders' Cup will be run on the synthetic surface of Santa Anita. The Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs will take place on dirt and the Hollywood Gold Cup is set for the all-weather track of Hollywood Park.