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Curlin records first work on turf
Curlin's regular exercise rider, Carlos Rosas, was aboard Hawaii Calls, while Albarado worked Curlin for just the second time in the colt's career. "The reason I wanted Robby to work him today was for him to feel," Asmussen said. "I think that Curlin deserves to be prepared for what's going to happen. Everybody was very pleased with how he handled it. He is blowing off of this move, but seven-eighths in 1:31-and-change around the dogs here is a very good move. I thought that he (galloped) out exceptional, as always. One thing that I really liked about it is when he went on the turf course and jogged off, he kept that presence about him -- there was no caution, no worry. He was very confident and very relaxed behind that horse. He paced him well and didn't get aggressive, like he was unsure of what he was supposed to do. I thought he picked him up very smoothly. When he got to him, head and head, he was a little aggressive again, which is what you expect from him at that stage." "I was more nervous working him this morning than I was riding him in the Foster -- that's the honest truth," Albarado said. "It's his first time on the turf and it's an exciting time for all of us." All of Curlin's races have been on dirt, which made Tuesday's work on the grass a critical step in realizing the hopes of majority owner Jess Jackson. Curlin could make his turf debut on July 12 in either the $500,000 Man o' War S. (G1) at Belmont Park or the $200,000 Arlington H. (G3) at Arlington Park. Concern about licensing of the colt's minority owners remains a factor in both jurisdictions, so the question of which race will mark Curlin's turf debut remains unsettled. But, if all goes well, Jackson and Asmussen would look to Paris and the rare bid by a top American horse for the Arc. "The perfect plan for us -- for me, for Curlin and for everybody associated with him -- is to first establish his level of quality on the turf with his next race and not get ahead of ourselves," Asmussen said. "We have to see if he can compete at the same level -- a nice work is not a graded stakes. If he can compete at his level on the turf and we get the race that we expect, we will map out how to win the Arc with him. I think that getting him over there immediately and getting him used to going right (on right-handed turns) would be the biggest obstacle that we face. I think we establish that he's as good a horse on the turf as he is on the dirt, then we get him over there and get him relaxed, comfortable and confident, and doing right." The most recent American dirt champion to make the trip to Paris for the Arc was Tom Rolfe, who closed out his three-year-old campaign of 1965 with a sixth-place effort behind the brilliant *Sea-Bird. Other prominent American-based runners who have run in the Arc include Career Boy, the champion turf horse of 1956, who finished fourth behind the legendary *Ribot in 1956 and 18th the following year; Carry Back, the champion three-year-old colt of 1961, who finished 10th in the 1962 Arc; and the multiple Grade 1 turf winner El Senor, ninth behind Suave Dancer in the 1991.
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