Breeders' Cup Memories: Curlin

Curlin wins the 2007 Classic.

Timeform look back at the career of Curlin, with the focus being on his 2007 success in the Breeders' Cup Classic...

Voted US Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008, Curlin equalled or surpassed a Timeform performance rating of 130 on four separate occasions, with the 2007 Breeder's Cup Classic featuring on that list.

A very representative field, comprising the US top five three-year-old males and the top older horse of that year, Curlin left his rivals trailing in the straight to become the first three-year-old since Tiznow seven years previously to land the Classic. A race likely to be more memorable in European eyes for the fatal injury sustained by the highly talented, if slightly quirky, George Washington, the achievements of Curlin on just his ninth appearance ought not to be overlooked.

Arguably making the victory all the more impressive was that it came on the back of a long and tough first season, as he was unraced as a two-year-old. Curlin entered the winners' enclosure on five of the previous eight occasions, with victories including the Grade 1 Preakness, the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby and the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, but also contested, and finished second and third respectively in, the Belmont Stakes and the Kentucky Derby.

Curlin would go on to race another full season, his destruction of the opposition in the Dubai World Cup, which represented his best performance on Timeform ratings, perhaps the highlight, and he would conclude his glittering career with a respectable fourth to Raven's Pass in the 2008 Classic, somewhat confirming the impression that he simply wasn't in the same form as the previous year. He made a brave attempt nonetheless on his first start on a synthetic track, a surface unlikely to play to his strengths, but he retired as the leading US-trained money-earner with total earnings of $10, 501, 800.

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