Minutes after accepting the trophy on behalf of 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin, owner Jess Jackson committed to racing the colt in '08, marking the first time since Tiznow in 2000-’01 that a three-year-old Horse of the Year would return as a four-year-old.
Curlin was the overwhelming choice in Horse of the Year voting with 249 votes, 237 more than Rags to Riches, who received 12 votes. The Smart Strike colt also was crowned champion three-year-old male after a season that began without a single race on his resume and concluded with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1).
“This is a guy that saw Seabiscuit run in 1939. I’ve seen Swaps, Nashua, Determined, Silky Sullivan, Native Dancer, etc., etc., all through Secretariat, and this is a dream come true,” Jackson said at the Eclipse Awards ceremony. “This is a sport that needs more and more heroes, and since we need them so badly we’ve decided to race Curlin again this year.”
Jackson, George Bolton, and Padua Stables bought a majority interest in Curlin after a 12 3/4-length romp in his career debut on February 3. Midnight Cry Stables, which purchased Curlin for $57,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale, retained a 20% interest.
Trained by Helen Pitts for his debut, Curlin was transferred to trainer Steve Asmussen and subsequently reeled off wins in the Rebel Stakes (G3) and Arkansas Derby (G2) at Oaklawn Park.
After a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), Curlin edged Derby winner Street Sense to win the Preakness Stakes (G1).
He closed his campaign with wins in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic. Curlin finished with 262 of the 267 votes for the three-year-old male Eclipse Award.
“It was a great year, and we hope we define him next year to show that you can race as a three-year-old and as a four-year old, instead of pushing them as two-year-olds and break them down before they’re three,” Jackson said.
“I’m really concerned that we’re not breeding for durability, that we’re breeding for speed and precociousness. I understand the need to generate revenue and income from a good horse, but all the great horses break down because they’re pushed too early. I’m hoping to set a standard with Curlin to show that you can wait until they’re three, still run, and have at least a four-year-old career, and maybe even another one.”
Asmussen has said that if Curlin were to remain in training a natural objective is the Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) on March 29 at Nad al Sheba.
Jackson and Bolton bought out Padua Stables in a deal announced on November 6. Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables subsequently bought out George Bolton’s ownership in Curlin on December 20, bringing Jackson’s interest to 80% with Midnight Cry retaining the other 20%.
Midnight Cry Stables is owned by Lexington lawyers Shirley Cunningham and Bill Gallion, who on the night of the Eclipse Awards were in a Kentucky jail awaiting trial on federal fraud charges related to alleged misappropriation of funds from a fen-phen diet drug class-action settlement.
Judge Roger Crittenden on Tuesday denied a motion that would have forced Midnight Cry to sell its interest in Curlin, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.