2007 Breeders' Cup Classic

Thoroughbred horse race Dirt 24th Breeders' Cup Classic Curlin Breeders Cup 2007.jpg Curlin at the 2007 Breeders' Cup Breeders' Cup Classic Monmouth Park 2007 10 27 Curlin Robby Albarado Steven Asmussen Stonestreet Stable Sloppy (sealed)Chart of the 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic http://www.equibase.com/premium/chartEmb.cfm?track=MTH&raceDate=10/27/2007&cy=USA&rn=11 Equibase 25 October 2016 41,781 2006 2008 The 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic (in full, the Breeders' Cup Classic Powered by Dodge, due to sponsorship) was the 24th running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2007 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on October 27, 2007, at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. In a closely contested year in which the Triple Crown series was split among three different horses, Curlin emerged as the best horse of his generation with a decisive win. The Classic is run on dirt at one mile and one-quarter (approximately 2000 m) with a purse of $5,000,000. It is run under weight-for-age conditions, with entrants carrying the following weights: Northern Hemisphere three-year-olds: 122 lb Southern Hemisphere three-year-olds: 117 lb Four-year-olds and up: 126 lb Contenders Carl Nafzger, the trainer of favorite Street Sense, knew the race would be difficult for bettors to figure out. "This is one of the best fields that could be put together," he said. "They’ve got everything you want—early speed, tactical speed, closers, and soundness. They’ve been beat and they’ve beat each other. There is class scattered all the way through the field. I've never really ran against this size field with this type of quality all the way through. They’ve all proved it with different styles. It's a great Classic."Year of Firsts For Breeders' Cup http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/157546/year-of-firsts-for-breeders-cup BloodHorse.com 25 October 2016 The older horse division had been weakened by the injury and subsequent retirement of Invasor, the defending Classic winner and Horse of the Year.Super Horse Invasor Retired After Workout Injury http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/159400/super-horse-invasor-retired-after-workout-injury BloodHorse.com 25 October 2016 Of the remaining older horses, the most highly regarded was Lawyer Ron, who had set a track record that summer at Saratoga when winning the Whitney and followed up with a win in the Woodward and a second to Curlin in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He was made the morning-line favorite at odds of 5-2Street Sense 'Awesome' In Breeders' Workout https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/23/AR2007102301056.html The Washington Post 25 October 2016 24 October 2007 but drifted at racetime to nearly 4–1. Lawyer Ron raced best when he came from off the pace, but was sometimes rank at the start of races. He was not helped by drawing the inside post position.Haskin Steve Front-end Tactics Loom Key to Breeders' Cup Classic http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/157414/front-end-tactics-loom-key-to-breeders-cup-classic BloodHorse.com 25 October 2016 In the three-year-old division, Street Sense entered as the slight favorite due to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Travers Stakes, despite losses to Curlin in the Preakness and to Hard Spun in the Kentucky Cup Classic. Curlin had secured wins in the Preakness and Jockey Club Gold Cup, but had previously lost to Street Sense and Hard Spun in the Derby, and by Any Given Saturday and Hard Spun in the Haskell. Hard Spun's only Grade I victory was in the King's Bishop Stakes sprint, which left his stamina at longer distances unproven.Breeders' Cup Will Showcase Solid 3-year-old Crop http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/157394/breeders-cup-will-showcase-solid-3-year-old-crop BloodHorse.com 25 October 2016Lawyer Ron slight favourite in Classic https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/lawyer-ron-slight-favourite-in-classic/article696096/ The Globe and Mail 25 October 2016 The sole European entry in the Classic was George Washington, who had been retired after finishing sixth in the 2006 Classic but proved sub-fertile and returned to racing. Race Description The late-October weather in New Jersey was poor: it rained on and off for several days, stopping just in time for the Classic. The track was sloppy.Dellapina John Curlin dominates field to win Breeders' Cup Classic http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/curlin-dominates-field-win-breeders-cup-classic-article-1.232017 NY Daily News 25 October 2016 As expected, Hard Spun went to the early lead and set a brisk pace, followed by Lawyer Ron and Diamond Stripes. Any Given Saturday moved into third as they moved around the far turn then stalled. Curlin also started his move on the turn, moving alongside Hard Spun as they entered the stretch. Curlin struck the lead with a furlong to go and won by over four lengths. His time of 2:00.59 tied the old track record of 2:002 5 set in 1962 by Carry Back, and was especially impressive given the track conditions. "Everything went perfectly, starting with all the speed up front", said Curlin's jockey Robby Albarado. "It unfolded just the way we wanted, but it also takes a hell of a horse to get this done. Curlin was there for us every step of the way."Liebman Dan Curlin Commanding Winner of Breeders' Cup Classic http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/157260/curlin-commanding-winner-of-breeders-cup-classic BloodHorse.com 25 October 2016 It was the first Breeders' Cup victory for both Albarado and Steve Asmussen, Curlin's trainer, whose main concern was the sloppy track. "He trained on an off-track half a dozen times at the most. It's been a very dry year everywhere we've been", said Asmussen. "But he came here in great condition. And he showed up. He ran when it mattered most. He came home like he was supposed to. He's a big-day horse." The race was marred by the breakdown of George Washington in the stretch. On-track veterinarians found open fractures to both sesamoid bones in his off-fore and determined he could not be saved. Jockey Michael Kinane said, "He was brave. He didn't go down. He stayed up on it. He saved me."Breeders' Cup tragedy as George Washington is put down https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/oct/28/horseracing The Guardian 25 October 2016 28 October 2007 Results FinishProgramNumberMargin(lengths)HorseJockeyTrainerFinal OddsWinnings1st 4 4 1 2 CurlinRobby AlbaradoSteven Asmussen4.402,700,000 2nd 8 4 3 4 Hard Spun Mario Pino J. Larry Jones 8.10 1,000,000 3rd 6 1 Awesome Gem David Flores Craig Dollase 28.30 500,000 4th 2 8 1 4 Street Sense Calvin Borel Carl Nafzger 2.50 255,000 5th 9 10 Tiago Mike Smith John Shirreffs 12.80 125,000 6th 3 head Any Given Saturday Garrett Gomez Todd Pletcher 3.90 7th 1 8 1 4 Lawyer Ron John Velazquez Todd Pletcher 3.90 8th 7 Diamond Stripes Cornelio Velásquez Richard Dutrow Jr. 34.30 DNF 5 George Washington (IRE) Michael Kinane Aidan O'Brien 9.00 Source: Equibase Times: 1 4 – 0:23.11; 1 2 – 0:45.85; 3 4 – 1:10.67; mile – 1:35.86; final – 2:00.59. Fractional Splits: (:23.11) (:22.74) (:24.82) (:25.19) (:24.73) Payout Payout Schedule: ProgramNumberHorseWinPlaceShow4Curlin10.805.204.208Hard Spun7.605.806Awesome Gem9.40 $2 Exacta (4-8) Paid $70.80 $2 Trifecta (4-8-6) Paid $646.30 $2 Superfecta (4-8-6-2) Paid $2,146.20 References 30em Category:Breeders' Cup Classic Breeders' Cup Classic Breeders' Cup Classic Breeders' Cup, 2007