Curlin To Test Out Turf on Tuesday

Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) winner and top-rated horse in the world Curlin will be testing out his weed capabilities on Tuesday morning here at Churchill Downs.

All eyes will be on the strapping chestnut as his connections are basing a proposed grass campaign off of the way he handles the sod.

Being by Smart Strike, you wouldn't think he will have any problem with the surface switch, but a work on turf and an actual race are two totally different things.

If he happens to float across the blades in his work, the next question is how a horse with his grinding running style will adapt to a style of racing that is more suited to horses that can "sit and sprint."

Will Steve Asmussen be able to get this horse to change his style of racing within the next couple of months, or do you just send him to the front, click off twelve second furlongs, and say "come and get me?"

I'm voting for sending the big guy to the front in any turf race he tries and letting everyone see if they can run him down, I just can't see him becoming a horse that can quicken well enough to lay off of the pace and be successful in top class turf events.

If all goes well in the workout, we'll get to see what he is made of on July 12th at Arlington Park.  If a local horse named Spotsgone ends up entering and gets Earlie Fires on his back, I would tell Albarado to not let him out of my sight...