OCEANPORT, N.J. – The bunting’s up, the flags are flying, the pavilions and tents are jammed, the highways are stacked, the rain’s falling, hopes are flying high. In short, it’s ready, set, go for the 24th edition of the Breeders’ Cup at drenched Monmouth Park this afternoon.
We’re tempted to say everything is going swimmingly, but we won’t.
No matter, the eyes of the racing universe, from the outreaches of Europe to the outback in Australia, from South Africa to Hong Kong, from Montreal to Montevideo, are on this racetrack today when at least half a dozen champions will be crowned, lousy weather or not.
“When your game is played outdoors, the weather is part of it,” Robert Kulina, Monmouth’s racing chief, said.
What the weather cannot change is the big cash and blaze of glory at stake in all eight Cup races. Nobody put it better than trainer Steve Asmussen as he stood outside his barn yesterday, cradling a carton of coffee.
“Never,” he said, “have I been in a race with so much on the line.”
He was speaking of the $5 million Classic, the mile-and-a-quarter high noon, which once and for all will settle the debate of who is the best horse in America.
Asmussen will saddle Curlin, the mountainous chestnut star, who won the Preakness and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and is rated equal second choice at 3-1 in the Classic.
“In this race, the winner takes all,” Asmussen said.
Indeed he does. He takes the $3 million winner’s pot, the trophy, the plaudits, the ecstasy of victory, probably the historical laurel of Horse of the Year – and a fortune in breeding rights.
Asmussen is confident he’s got the goods to carry it off in Curlin, but he’s got concerns.
“His last race, when he beat Lawyer Ron in the Gold Cup, was his fastest and toughest race,” Asmussen said. “Now he’s running back after only 27 days. It’s a concern.
“We are also aware that Curlin has had only one race over the Monmouth track and the result speaks for itself.”
Asmussen was referring to Curlin’s disappointing distant third in the Haskell in August, when he chugged home nearly five lengths behind Any Given Saturday and Hard Spun.
Further, the trainer says he does not have the faintest idea how Curlin will perform on an off track.
“He’s never been over one, so we don’t know,” he said.
So much for the negatives and cautions. On the flip side is the horse that enraptured the public through the spring and summer. Curlin broke his maiden in February and has run in nothing but graded stakes races ever since.
He won the Rebel at Oaklawn by five, the Arkansas Derby by 10, then was pitched into the Kentucky Derby, where he ran a heroic third. Next out, he beat his Derby nemesis, Street Sense, in a thrilling Preakness, then lost the Belmont by a head in another thriller.
After a freshening, Curlin ran his worst race ever when third in the Haskell. He quickly rebounded with his patented thriller, beating Lawyer Ron by a neck in the Gold Cup.
“I’ve never had a horse like him,” Asmussen said. “He spoils us with his consistency.”
The trainer knows the Classic is a tough assignment.
“Lawyer Ron held us off in the Gold Cup to the last three jumps,” he said. “I think he will go much better around the two turns of the Classic. There’s a lot to like about that horse. As for Street Sense, he runs around those turns amazingly well and he has great acceleration.
“Curlin will have to run better than he did in the Gold Cup to win this race.”
It could be a big day for Asmussen. He also has two live colts in the Juvenile, Kodiak Kowboy and Pyro. He has brought his parents in from Texas – in anticipation of getting into the winner’s circle.
“I’ve never been so excited,” he said.
That may go for everyone at this Cup.