The View From Here . . .

By Bob Morgan, Jr.

Since I never quite wrote about this year's highly disappointing Belmont Stakes, beyond a paragraph on a column about how Big Brown's disastrous run was one of many downbeat events recently, perhaps I can be forgiven for another horse racing item. This is a significantly more uplifting story about a horse named Curlin.

Last year, when Curlin was three years old, he finished third in the Kentucky Derby, won the Preakness Stakes, barely lost in the Belmont to Rags to Riches (the first filly to win the race in 102 years) and then won the Breeder's Cup Classic. He was named Horse of the Year, basically thoroughbred racing's highest accolade.

The owners of most modern three-year old colts enjoying Curlin's success would have had little hesitation in making their next move. A syndicate would be formed and Curlin would be sent to stud, never to race again. He would cover perhaps 50 mares in his initial year as a stallion, at a fee of maybe $100,000 per mating. Indeed, except for Curlin, every major Triple Crown horse of 2007 has now been retired.

Instead however, Jess Jackson, one of the founders of the Kendall-Jackson winery and 80% owner of Curlin, decided to take a different tack. He pointed the colt to the Dubai World Cup, the world's richest race with a purse of $6 million, $3.5 million to the winner. After winning a prep raise on the sandy Dubai track, Curlin proved much the best in the World Cup.

Mr. Jackson and the colt's connections were not content with that victory. They wanted to see if the horse could be a champion on grass as well as dirt. The ultimate goal would be the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Europe's most prestigious race, which will be run at the Longchamps racecourse in Paris on October 5.

Many horses who run well on dirt do not relish the grass surface, and Curlin's owners needed to find whether the colt would be able to run with the best grass runners. He chose last Saturday's $500,000 Man O'War Stakes at Belmont, a Grade I event.

Young Robert is in camp for a few more weeks, so I went out to Belmont by myself to get a look at Curlin. There was a huge throng in the paddock before the race watching the horse get saddled.

It would be great to report that Curlin scored a smashing victory in the Man O'War, but that isn't what happened. He ended up second, beaten by Red Rocks, a seasoned grass champion who won the Breeders Cup Turf race in 2006. It was a very respectable performance, but Curlin's connections have not yet decided whether to take another try on the grass or to put him back on the dirt. Retirement is not one of the options being discussed.

Whatever Curlin does this year, his quest to excel represents a very welcome sporting gesture in an industry that has had severe problems recently. His owner, Mr. Jackson, recognizes these issues, noting in recent Congressional testimony that racing has a "drug problem" and lamenting that "we used to breed to race, now we race to breed." He has warned his trainers that they will be fired if a horse tests positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

One hopes that the story of Curlin will herald the resurgence of a cleaner sport where the main measure of a horse's success is on the track rather than in the breeding shed.