Stephen Foster

LEPAROUX HOPES TO FINISH 2009 IN GRAND FASHION – It has been a banner year for jockey Julien Leparoux, who leads all North American riders in earnings with $18,041,548 through Wednesday and a sparkling showing at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in which he rode three winners and won the Bill Shoemaker Award as the top rider at the event.

Currently second in the rider standings at the Fall Meet, Leparoux will be out of town Saturday to ride American Lion for trainer Eoin Harty in the Hollywood Prevue (GIII) and miss the closing weekend to ride Just as Well in the Japan Cup (GI).

“I have ridden in Japan before, but not at the Tokyo Racecourse,” said Leparoux, who won the 2006 Eclipse Award as the top apprentice in North America. “After that, I ride one day at Calder (Dec. 5) and then one day at Hollywood Park (Dec.19).”

Leparoux has ridden 230 winners in 2009, good for a tie for ninth in North America. The 26-year-old native of Senlis, France, had a couple of victories that would be at the forefront of the 2009 highlight reel.
“I’d start with the Sunshine Millions,” Leparoux said of It’s a Bird’s 5 ¼-length victory. “And then the Santa Anita Handicap.”

Leparoux guided Einstein (Brz) to victory in the Big Cap and it is Einstein that would provide Leparoux with his biggest do-over if he could.

“There are a few I would like to ride over, but the Stephen Foster for sure,” Leparoux said of the June race here in which Einstein encountered trouble nearly every step of the 1 1/8-mile race.

A winner of five riding titles here, Leparoux plans to spend some time in France over the holidays before beginning 2010 at Gulfstream Park.

CARROLL HOPING ACOMA REBOUNDS IN CARDINAL – Helen Alexander and Helen Groves’ Acoma has been perfect throughout her career at Churchill Downs with two victories on the dirt and two on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

She will try to extend that grass streak to three in Saturday’s 36th running of the $100,000-added Cardinal Handicap (GIII) at 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

"I am more hopeful than confident,” trainer David Carroll said. “Before she ran at Keeneland, she had been training good and it is the same this time.”

The race at Keeneland was the Grade I First Lady in which Acoma finished last in the field of nine over soft turf.

“I am hoping it was just the soft turf that she didn’t like,” Carroll said. “I hope the course is good Saturday. That rain (on Tuesday) bothered me a little bit.”

The First Lady was Acoma’s first start in nearly three months after a last-place effort in the Delaware Handicap on the dirt, a performance Carroll forgives because the filly’s blood work came back bad after the race. But the First Lady was perplexing to the trainer.

“Sometimes fillies can go off form and it is hard to get them back on track,” Carroll said. “I’d like to see her run her race. If she gets beat because of bad luck or a bad trip, well, we’ve got her back. If she runs like she did at Keeneland where she was never in the race, we’ll have to take a good look about next year, because I’d like to keep her racing.”

Jesus Castanon will ride Acoma for the first time on Saturday in the Cardinal in which Acoma carries top weight of 121 pounds.

MAFAAZ BATTLING BACK FROM HEALTH ISSUES – In the spring of this year, one of the most talked about Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) hopefuls was Shadwell Stable’s Mafaaz (GB).

In March, the colt had won the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at Kempton Park in England, a victory that guaranteed Mafaaz a spot in the starting gate for the 135th Run for the Roses. Trainer John Gosden shipped Mafaaz to Keeneland for the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) to see how he would fare against U.S. competition before going on to the Derby.

Mafaaz ran eighth behind General Quarters, was transferred to the barn of Kiaran McLaughlin and the Derby quest abandoned.

Mafaaz has not raced since.

“He is back on the farm and he seems like a happy horse,” said Neal McLaughlin, assistant to his brother. “After we got him, he was gelded and then went to Saratoga the first of June.

“He was there about a week and got real sick. He lost muscle and started losing protein through his liver. It was pretty dangerous and we have no idea what caused it.”

Mafaaz spent more than three months at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

“I got a little jealous because the vet there got to spend more time with him than I have,” McLaughlin said. “I only got to see him a few days in the spring and then again at the farm.

"He’s a neat horse and I was excited about American racing for him. I don’t know if he will make it back to the races. Hopefully he will. Things seem to be going well.”

BARN TALK – Jockey Chris Emigh, who was involved in a riding mishap when his mount appeared to clip heels on Nov. 11, will be out 5-6 weeks with a broken collarbone according to his agent Terry Miller. “He rode Sunday, but he was really hurting,” Miller said. “He went back for a CT scan and that revealed the broken collarbone. We were going to go to the Fair Grounds after the meet, but now this will put him out right up to the start at Oaklawn Park.” …
    Bullsbay, owned by Mitchell Ranch, Frank Lewkowitz and Joe Rice, is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Monday to run in the $400,000-added Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (GII) to be run on Friday, Nov. 27. Trained by Graham Motion, Bullsbay has won three of four starts at Churchill Downs including a victory in the Alysheba (GIII) on May 1. Bullsbay finished fourth behind fellow Clark Handicap probable Macho Again in the Grade I Stephen Foster Handicap here on June 13.

WORK TAB – Mark Stanley’s Swift Temper worked five furlongs over a “fast” track Thursday morning in 1:02.60 in preparation for the Thanksgiving Day Falls City Handicap (GII). … Tom McCarthy’s General Quarters, 10th in this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and winner of the Grade I Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, worked a half-mile in :49.80.   

With five sensational graded stakes races cumulatively worth more than $1.2 million and a bevy of entertainment before and during the races, Saturday’s popular Reunion Day program at Churchill Downs promises to be action packed on and off the racetrack.

            Inaugurated a decade ago, Reunion Day, who many have nicknamed “Stephen Foster Super Saturday,” is a day-long celebration of the past and present with multiple stakes offerings centered around the track’s signature event for older horses, the Grade I, $660,000 Stephen Foster Handicap.

The 28th running of the 1 1/8-mile test, which has helped crown Horse of the Year on four occasions, lured America’s top older horse. Einstein, who sits atop the Week 15 NTRA Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, is the 2-1 morning line favorite for this year’s marquee event and he’ll make a run at history.

The 7-year-old horse will attempt to become the first horse to win three consecutive Grade I races on three surfaces and a millionaire three times over (the $396,924 first prize would boost Einstein’s career earnings to $3,006,828). This year, he’s won Santa Anita Handicap over the synthetic Pro-Ride surface and the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic over the Matt Winn Turf Course on Kentucky Derby Day.

Einstein has a stiff challenge as the field of eight cumulatively boasts 21 graded stakes wins. Top opponents include international star Asiatic Boy-ARG, who’ll make his U.S. debut in the Foster; multiple Grade II champ Arson Squad, who’ll be ridden by Eclipse Award-winning jockey Garrett Gomez; and the flashy West Virginia invader Researcher, who’ll be piloted by red-hot Calvin Borel.

            Appropriately, the star-studded racing program will be accompanied by several special events for racing fans of all ages. They include:

¨      Between race salutes and trophy presentations to winning connections of this year’s Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks (the Oaks presentation will be after Race 4 at 2:21 p.m. and the Derby presentation will follow Race 5 at 2:53 p.m.), plus free autograph sessions with the Derby and Oaks victorious owners, trainers and jockey Calvin Borel;

¨      An appearance by famed horse racing cartoonist Pierre “Peb” Bellocq, who’ll be onsite to update his colorful Derby-winning jockey and trainer murals and sign purchased prints of those popular works;

¨      A special pre-race handicapping seminar and breakfast featuring a panel of horse racing experts;

¨      A free question and answer session with leading rider Julien Leparoux;

¨      Entertainment by The Stephen Foster Singers inside Gate 10 and live music by Artie Dean Harris in the paddock area;

¨      A petting zoo, pony rides, face painting and games for children at the track’s Junior Jockey Club;

¨      A between-race $100,000 check presentation by Churchill Downs Incorporated to Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for funds raised at this year’s Kentucky Oaks (immediately after Race 6 at approximately 3:25 p.m.); and

¨      A special invitation-only “TwinSpires Day at Churchill Downs” in Skye Terrace 4 and Sections 115-116 for a select group of TwinSpires.com account holders.

            Churchill Downs will open admission gates Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (all times EDT) with the first of 11 live races scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Early arrivals can take part in free autograph sessions and/or handicapping seminars.

Borel, who scored a rare Oaks-Derby sweep aboard Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird, respectively, will be available to sign free autographs from 11:30 a.m. to about noon on the second floor of the clubhouse in front of Peb’s jockey mural. Meanwhile, Mine That Bird’s trainer Chip Woolley and owners Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach and Rachel Alexandra’s former trainer Hal Wiggins and former owners Dolphus Morrison and Michael Lauffer will sign from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and between 3-4 p.m. 

            Customers also will have an opportunity to learn more about leading rider Julien Leparoux, the regular rider of Einstein. The 25-year-old Frenchman will be racing analyst Jill Byrne’s special guest for Saturday’s “Get in the Game” Handicapping Seminar. The half-hour session – free with general admission – will begin at noon in the paddock area and will feature informative and in-depth analysis of select races and other handicapping topics.

            A more in-depth Reunion Day Handicapping Seminar that’ll include race-by-race analysis of each Reunion Day stakes race will take place early Saturday at 9 a.m. in the Paddock Pavilion. For $15, fans will receive admission to the seminar and that afternoon’s races, continental breakfast, a reserved box seat, an official program, a gift bag and an entry into a drawing for door prizes. The expert panel will feature top trainer Dale Romans, Daily Racing Form’s Marty McGee, WHAS 84’s Paul Rogers and Churchill Downs’ John Asher and Jill Byrne.

There’s also fun for the entire family. Patrons who enter through Gate 10 will be entertained by The Stephen Foster Singers as they perform the legendary works of the famed composer who wrote “My Old Kentucky Home”. Meanwhile, Artie Dean Harris will play live music in the paddock area between 1-5 p.m.

A petting zoo, pony rides, face painting and games for children aged 3-10 will highlight Saturday’s activities at Churchill Downs’ Junior Jockey Club located near the Guest Services Booth inside Gate 10. The Junior Jockey Club is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Churchill Downs’ mascot Churchill Charlie will be on hand for photographs between 2-2:30 p.m. Coloring books, crayons, individual games and reading material are available as well.

Meanwhile, acclaimed Thoroughbred racing cartoonist Pierre Bellocq, better known to generations of horse racing fans as “Peb,” will update his colorful murals that depict every jockey and trainer that have won the Kentucky Derby. Peb will add Woolley to the trainer’s mural and update Borel’s image to reflect two victories as a jockey.

Between 1-2:30 p.m., Peb will be available for autographs and, for the first time, fans can purchase limited edition prints of his masterful trainer’s mural at cost for just $10. Additionally, the first 100 who purchase the trainer’s mural will also receive a complementary print of its 2005 companion piece, the jockey’s mural.

            Churchill Downs’ rapid-fire stakes action on Saturday will commence in Race 7 at approximately 3:57 p.m. and will encompass the final five races on the program. The Stephen Foster, carded as Race 10, is scheduled for 5:29 p.m.

According to the National Weather Service, Saturday’s Louisville forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with a high near 84 degrees. There’s a small 30-percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m.

For more information, call (502) 636-4400 or log onto churchilldowns.com.

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Midnight Cry Stable’s Einstein (BRZ) will carry high weight of 124 pounds and concede from 2-11 pounds to seven rivals Saturday as he attempts to become the first horse to win three consecutive Grade I races on three surfaces in the 28th running of the $600,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs.

            The Stephen Foster, which serves as the centerpiece of an action-packed 11-race program that features four other graded stakes, will be the 10th race on the “Reunion Day” card at approximately 5:29 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post time is 12:45 p.m. and grandstand admission gates open at 11:30 a.m.

Trained by Helen Pitts-Blasi, Einstein will again be ridden by Julien Leparoux who guided Einstein to victory in the March 7 Santa Anita Handicap over the synthetic Pro-Ride surface and the May 2 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs.

          Only Lava Man, who retired from racing last July, has won Grade I races on three surfaces, but he did not do it consecutively.

 Einstein, a 7-year-old son of 1985 Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck, will break from post position three in the 1 1/8-mile main track race. Boasting a career mark of 25-11-3-2 with earnings of $2,609,904, Einstein ran second in last year’s Stephen Foster behind Horse of the Year Curlin.

 Of the 11 victories, seven have come in graded stakes with five being in Grade Is. No other Stephen Foster entrant boasts a Grade I victory, but the other seven starters have combined to win 14 graded stakes.

The most accomplished of those is Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum’s Asiatic Boy (ARG), who will make his United States debut under the care of trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. A winner of four graded stakes in Dubai, Asiatic Boy has captured seven of 15 starts with earnings in excess of $3 million.

McLaughlin won the 2007 Stephen Foster with Flashy Bull.

Alan Garcia rides Asiatic Boy, who will break from post position seven and carry 122 pounds.

Three Stephen Foster starters will carry 118 pounds: Arson Squad, a three-time graded stakes winner, Finallymadeit, also a three-time graded stakes winner who has won 12 stakes in his career with 11 of those coming at Calder, and Researcher, winner of the Grade III Queens County Handicap at Aqueduct last fall.

Drawing 117-pound imposts are Macho Again, winner of last year’s Derby Trial here and subsequent victor in the Grade II Jim Dandy and New Orleans Handicap, and Bullsbay, a perfect 3-for-3 at Churchill Downs including a May 1 victory in the Alysheba (Grade III).

The field for the Stephen Foster, from the rail out (with jockey, assigned weight and Mike Battaglia’s morning line odds): Alphabet Magic (Tony Farina, 113 pounds, 30-1), Macho Again (Robby Albarado, 117, 10-1), Einstein (Julien Leparoux, 124, 2-1), Arson Squad (Garrett Gomez, 118, 4-1), Researcher (Calvin Borel, 118, 4-1), Bullsbay (Jeremy Rose, 117, 10-1), Asiatic Boy (Alan Garcia, 122, 7-2) and Finallymadeit (Eduardo Nunez, 118, 8-1).

Since achieving Grade I status in 2002, the Foster has produced three horses that went on to earn “Horse of the Year” titles: 2003 runner-up Mineshaft, 2005 winner Saint Liam and last year’s champ Curlin.

In 1998, Awesome Again and Silver Charm ran 1-2 in the Grade II Foster and then came back in less than five months to duplicate the finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

In 1991, when the Stephen Foster was a Grade III event, Black Tie Affair (IRE) won the race, the first of six consecutive victories in a Horse of the Year campaign that included a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) at Churchill Downs.

Churchill Downs has unveiled a stakes schedule for its 2009 Spring Meet that is headed by the 135th renewals of the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) and the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (GI), and includes a total of 29 stakes events with total purses of $7.575 million.

Three more Grade I events are included on the schedule for the 52-day session that will run from April 25-July 5. The $500,000-added Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and $300,000-added Humana Distaff, both scheduled on the Kentucky Derby program on Saturday, May 2, and the $750,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap, which is set to head the “Stephen Foster Super Saturday” racing program on Saturday, June 13, round out the five Grade I events on the schedule.

The 2009 Spring Meet stakes schedule includes 27 graded races. Along with its five Grade I races, the schedule features six Grade II events and 16 Grade III races. Two races on the schedule were granted higher graded status by the American Graded Stakes Committee. The $100,000-added Derby Trial was restored to Grade III status for its 84th running on the meet’s opening day. The Churchill Downs Distaff Turf Mile will be a Grade II event for the first time when the one-mile turf race for fillies and mares ages three and up is renewed on Kentucky Derby Day.

Three races have new names: the $100,000-added Eight Belles (GIII), a Derby Day race formerly known as the La Troienne that now honors the ill-fated 2008 Kentucky Derby runner-up; the $350,000-added Louisville Distaff, formerly the Louisville Breeders’ Cup, on May 1; and the $100,000-added Kentucky Juvenile (GIII) on April 30, formerly the Kentucky Breeders’ Cup. One race will be run at a new distance as the $100,000 Matt Winn on May 16 moves from six furlongs to seven furlongs. Two non-graded stakes races run in 2008 will go on hiatus this year. Those races are the Opening Verse Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up, and the Mamzelle, a five-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares ages 3 and up.

“Our Spring Meet stakes schedule offers something for horses in all age and gender divisions, and we continue our focus of high quality, big event days with multiple stakes surrounding the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Stephen Foster Handicap,” said Ben Huffman, Churchill Downs racing secretary. “Declines in wagering caused by economic conditions and unexpected limits on distribution of our simulcast signal in 2008 provided challenges as we put this schedule together. But we are satisfied with the finished product and look forward to working with our horsemen to continue to present compelling, high quality stakes events to fans of Churchill Downs racing throughout North America.”

The 2009 stakes schedule includes two days that feature six stakes races headed by Grade I events. The Stephen Foster Day program on June 15 has five stakes races, and the April 30 and May 30 programs each feature a pair of stakes races.

The Kentucky Derby Day program on Saturday, May 2 will again be the biggest day of the meet as the main event will be accompanied by five other stakes races – including two other Grade I events – and total stakes purses on the day of $3.35 million. Other Grade I events on the Derby Day card include the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and Humana Distaff, and the $250,000-added Churchill Downs Stakes (GII), Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (GII) and the Eight Belles round out the day’s stakes races. The Friday, May 1 program topped by the Kentucky Oaks also features six stakes races – five of them graded – and total purses for those events total of $1.35 million. The Kentucky Oaks, a 1 1/8-mile race that is America’s premier race for 3-year-old fillies, is supported on the program by the Louisville Distaff, $150,000-added Crown Royal American Turf (GIII), $150,000-added Alysheba (GIII), $100,000-added Aegon Turf Sprint (GIII) and the $100,000-added Edgewood.

The Stephen Foster Handicap, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up, tops the June 13 “Stephen Foster Super Saturday” program of five graded stakes races with total purses $1.55 million. Last year’s Stephen Foster featured a 1-2 finish by reigning “Horse of the Year” Curlin and Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and Clark Handicap (GII) winner Einstein – two of the three finalists for the Eclipse Award that honors America’s top older horse. Other races on the “Super Saturday” program include the $200,000-added Jefferson Cup (GII), $150,000-added Northern Dancer (GIII), $300,000-added Fleur de Lis Handicap (GII), and $150,000-added Regret (GIII). The May 30 program will include the $100,000-added Aristides (GIII) and $100,000-added Dogwood (GIII).

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2009. The track’s 2009 Spring Meet is scheduled for April 25-July 5. Churchill Downs has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record six times, and will host the international racing championship again on Nov. 5-6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

Reigning “Horse of the Year” Curlin made a spectacular return to competition in the United States when he cruised to an easy 4 1/4-length victory over nine rivals in the 27th running of Saturday’s $1 million-guaranteed Stephen Foster Handicap (Grade I) for 3-year-olds and up at Churchill Downs.

Owned by Stonestreet Stables and Midnight Cry Stables and ridden by Robby Albarado, Curlin rallied from fourth to take the lead in the upper stretch and drew away to cover the 1 1/8-mile distance over a “fast” track in 1:49.68.  The 4-to-10 favorite paid $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10.  Einstein, a three-time Grade I stakes winner on turf who was making a rare start on dirt, rallied under Julien Leparoux to nip Barcola by a nose for second and paid $3.80 and $3.20.  Barcola, who set a moderate pace under Jesus Castanon, finished third and paid $6.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Curlin has now won five consecutive races – a string that includes four Grade I events – and is unbeaten in three starts in 2008.  The winner of last fall’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) at Monmouth Park opened the year in Dubai with a pair of victories that included the $6 million Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba.  He became the second winner of the world’s richest race to return to the U.S. to win the Stephen Foster Handicap.  Street Cry won both races in 2002, while Dubai World Cup winners Silver Charm (1998) and Captain Steve (2001) each finished second in the Stephen Foster.

The 4-year-old son of Smart Strike improved his career record to 9-1-2 in 12 races and the winner’s share of $589,000 from the Stephen Foster Handicap’s record $1 million purse improved his career earnings to $9,396,800.  The victory moved the Kentucky-bred Curlin closer to second-place Skip Away on American racing’s all-time earnings list.  Skip Away earned $9,616,360 in his racing days, while Cigar remains the career leader with earnings of $9,999,815.

Curlin, who carried high weight of 128 pounds in the Stephen Foster and conceded anywhere from 10 to 15 pounds to Saturday’s opponents, broke in the middle of the field from his rail post and settled in fourth behind Barcola as the pacesetter led his nine rivals through easy fractions of :25.01 for the quarter, :49.28 for the half-mile and 1:13.41 for six furlongs.  Curlin angled off the rail and took aim on the leader entering the homestretch, engaged the early leader in a brief battle for the lead and then drew off under a hand ride by Albarado for a comfortable win.  Einstein, who settled in sixth early, rallied late to nip Barcola at the finish for the runner-up spot.

The victory by Curlin marked the second consecutive Stephen Foster Handicap victory for Albarado, who took last year’s renewal aboard Flashy Bull.  It was the first victory in the race for Asmussen, who also saddled Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Pyro to win the $175,000-added  Northern Dancer Stakes (GIII) for 3-year-olds earlier in the day.

The 4 1/4-length victory margin for Curlin was the second-largest in the 27-year history of the race.  Only Street Cry, who won the race by 6 1/2 lengths in 2002, won the race more comfortably.

Grasshopper ran fourth, and was followed past the finish by Brass Hat, Jonesboro, Delightful Kiss, Sam P., High Blues and Red Rock Creek.

The Stephen Foster Handicap was the highlight of “Stephen Foster Super Saturday,” which featured six graded stakes races with total purses of $2.025 million.

STAKES QUOTES: THE STEPHEN FOSTER HANDICAP

STEVE ASMUSSEN (trainer, Curlin) - “It’s such an honor to be involved with this horse - he is such a beautiful animal.  I’m so thankful to Mr. Jackson and the whole Stonestreet group and Midnight Cry to bring him back as a 4 year-old and just letting us enjoy him.”

(Q: What is it like for you to train a horse like Curlin?)
“A dream of a lifetime.  You know, you are very fortunate to be involved with this sport to begin with, let alone to have an animal as special as he is.”

JESS JACKSON (co-owner, Curlin) - “Kentucky horsemen appreciate this horse. What he stands for is a classic champion and we’ll see how great he is because he is not fully defined.”

ROBBY ALBARADO (jockey, Curlin) - (on the ride) “Great, phenomenal; he’s an amazing horse.  Again with his routine brilliance, he is in textbook form.  He’s showing that he is a superstar.  He prevailed for the fans and I’m proud of him-- he’s an amazing horse-- amazing athlete.”

(Q: What has it been like riding Curlin?)
“A stepping stone of every jockey’s dream and he fulfilled a lot for me-- taking me across the world and back.  And I just look forward to the rest of the year and hopefully we can do it again for everyone.”

HELEN PITTS (trainer, Einstein) - “It’s a victory for us, I think.  It really is.  I thought we’d been nosed out for second, but I was still tickled to death with the way he finished.  I didn’t think we had the best of trips with the pace that there was early.  Like Julien (Leparoux) said, with no pace he kind of got shuffled around early and ended up back where he didn’t want to be, but he adapted to it.”

(Q: When he came to Barcola, what were you thinking?)
“When he came to him, it gives that horse more incentive.  Curlin was far enough away that he was eyeing Barcola at that point.  He had something to run at for second.  I thought we had been nosed out for second, but I’m happy with the way it turned out.  I said before at the beginning before the race ever ran, I’d be honored to be second to him (Curlin).”

(Q: Back to the turf for his next race?)
“Oh, absolutely.  The Arlington Million is still the ultimate goal  I’m not saying something like the Clark (Handicap) in the fall wouldn’t be an option.  Obviously he likes this track.  But going forward I think you absolutely stick with your same plan.  We did this today to do what we had to do because, as you can see, when he’s ready to run, he’s ready to run.”

JULIEN LEPAROUX (jockey, Einstein) – “The outside horses broke quick and then they took back and there was no pace out there. I wish they would have gone in 1:10 (instead of 1:13.41). But my horse ran well; it’s no disgrace to run second to Curlin.”

JESUS CASTANON (jockey, Barcola) - “I was able to slow the pace down.  Nobody would go with me, so I took advantage of it.  When I asked him to go he picked it up real nice, but Curlin went around me.  He just ran past my horse and he was trying to catch up with him, but that’s a different thing.  Down the lane I thought I was going to be able to finish up for second, but he couldn’t hang on.”

GARRETT GOMEZ (jockey, Grasshopper) – “I was in a good spot going into the first turn, I thought. Curlin was down on the inside and real tight with a couple of horses. Then (Kent) Desormeaux (on Sam P.) pushed me out and I went from being three-wide to five-wide and by the time that happened we were three-quarters of the way around the first turn. They were really backing up. They were not going fast enough to say I am going to take back. We were in a pretty good spot and Curlin was the one that had to fight his way out. If I had had enough horse around the turn, he still would have been in there. At the time I asked him, he wasn’t there for me.”