by Steve Bailey

Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old Curlin got his first look at the Nad al Sheba racecourse main track on Wednesday as he prepares for a run in the $6-million Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) on March 29.

The four-year-old Smart Strike colt cantered gently around the track with regular exercise ride Carmen Rosas aboard and under the watchful eye of Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen.

Curlin is scheduled to prep for the world’s richest Thoroughbred race in a $175,000 handicap over 2,000 meters (9.94 furlongs)—the same distance as the World Cup—on February 28.

Blasi said that Curlin has settled into his new surroundings well and appears to be ready for competition.

“He’s doing fantastic and has a lot of energy,” Blasi said. “The track doesn’t have a lot of turn to it, which Curlin will appreciate as he has a tendency to look to the inside.”

Blasi said that he plans to work Curlin just as he would if he had stayed in the United States and has scheduled a light breeze for Sunday or Monday.

“He’s tremendously confident,” he said. “He doesn’t get too hot in the paddock and he likes to be comfortable with where he is.”

Despite impressive victories in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1) already on Curlin’s record, Blasi said a win in the Dubai World Cup could be the crowning moment at this point in the colt's career.

“Dubai is the only place in the world you can run on such an international level against some of the best horses in the world,” he said. “The Dubai World Cup is the richest horse race in the world and it’s a great way to show the horse to the world.”

Although Curlin most likely will be the overwhelming favorite to win the Dubai World Cup, Blasi said he and Asmussen are taking nothing for granted as they will have to face a talented field of challengers, including UAE Triple Crown winner Asiatic Boy, who is unbeaten in five career starts at Nad al Sheba.

“Mike de Kock is a great trainer and Asiatic Boy is an impressive horse; we know he’s going to be tough to beat,” he said. “But Curlin is a special kind of horse. He was third in the Kentucky Derby [Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)] in only his fourth ever start. We expect him to do big things.”

Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times