Champion 2yo Colt on Dirt

CURLING

2yo colt - Curlin x Smelling Into Cat (Storm Cat x Housebuster)

OWNER/TRAINER – Snowclan (Snowclan Stables)

RECORD: 2009: 8 / 4-1-1
LIFETIME EARNINGS: $1,647,432

2009 Stakes:

WON: Breeders Bowl Juvenile (G1), Seaside Park (G1), Midsoil Stakes (G2)

2ND: Upper New York Special (G2)

Young Trainer Plus Young Sire Plus Young Colt Plus Opportunity = Eclipse!

By- Slipknot22

It is said that opportunity comes knocking to most people. The key is knowing it when it arrives, and making the most of it. THOSE are the people who fashion greatness. Snowclan , the lead stable in the second-generation stable group of the same name, is riding the wave of that perfect storm of opportunity and skill.

Snowclan, the 15 yr old wunderkind owner/trainer of the equally prodigious prodigy 2 yr old Curling, is the son of longtime trainer Head2Head , a veteran simmer of over 9 years.  As is the case with many newcomers, Snowclan had his share of struggles getting the hang of a consistent stable or three. Made perhaps more challenging because he was also in the same residency, Pastures of Green, as his successful father's group, with over 6.500 races and a double-digit win % to boot. After six months of playing, Snowclan was still struggling with most of his stables, including the Master stable, which was without a win in 22 starts at the time.

A local contest netted the F-Graded mare by Storm Cat named Smelling Into Cat. The second perk of that contest was the winner got to pick the sire. The brilliant freshman sire Curlin got together with the Storm Cat mare, and the young stud produced a young superstar, for the very young trainer.

The Early Starts

Curling made his debut in the local resident Freshman Sires Series, at 5 furlongs on the dirt, and even going off as the third choice in the betting, there was little doubt this solidly built firebrand was born to run. He made the lead early, never gave it up, and only a bit of greenness in deep stretch made it as close a finish as it was, a bit less than a length. A very respectable speed figure of 72 for a 2 yr old's late March race.

With that, it was a very confident Snowclan that trotted out five weeks later, to the next leg of that same Freshman Sire Series, this one an owner restricted allowance. Same jock, same front running tact, same speed figure, even left as the 3 rd choice in the betting again. This time though, different result, as an extra furlong completely gassed the youngster, and he was buried in deep stretch to a 4 th place finish, beaten four and a quarter. Still, Snowclan saw progress, and for the next five works Curling was schooled in how to rate off the leaders to conserve some of that early energy.

His next start was a non-winner of two lifetime allowance, this one not owner-restricted, and as they hit the top of the stretch, it looked like Curling had learned his lesson. He had come from a stalking 3 rd , to just put a nose in front at the third call, when he was passed in the stretch by two horses, finishing with a show by a length. But the overall time was a marked improvement, to 80, and he looked like a growing horse again.

The Turning Point

Then came the point when Snowclan decided his young blueblood was underachieving and needed a bigger test. Straight from a 3 rd place finish in a NW2L race, he found a Grade II he believed Curling could compete in. Humming "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain", Curling's connections shipped him over the big pond to a very wet Spain. The rain and slop trimmed the field to 7, and the oddsmakers liked the competitiveness of the field, as Curling got co-favorite honors at 2.5/1 (and the 3 rd fave was only 2.7/1).

A very tightly wound Curling broke well, and decided he didn't like his newly found stalking stroke very much, or to have mud in his eyes either. He kept his competition at bay, barely, then around the turn and down the stretch, he realized he had them, and finished up the 6 furlongs in fine style, with a very solid 2 ˝ length win and an 85 speed figure. And a Grade II win under his belt in just his fourth start. But was it the slop? Was it the small field? While Curling had definitely stepped up in company in his young career, how good was he?

Next up was a larger field, on fast dirt, and keeping the same Graded company. Shipping back to the states, he was racing under a bright sunny sky in upstate NY, at the Upper New York Special (Grade II). A better and larger field was there, and Curling was a middle-of-the-pack choice at almost 7 to 1. Another fast break, another pace-setting run, and another just caught in deep stretch. But it was his 3 rd straight improving speed figure, and again, Snowclan saw things that others didn't, because his next race was yet another uptick in class, up to the bigs of the big.

Shooting For the Top of the Class

Moving down to New Jersey this time, Curling lined up in the Grade I Seaside Park at close to the same odds he had in the Upper New York Special . Snowclan and Curling's jock that day figured his best attribute was his gate speed, so this time Curling pushed it even harder and built up some daylight before coming out of the turn. He kept the now-growing number of Curling fans nervous to the very end, turning a 3+ length lead into less than a length from turn to finish line, but he had done it! He had fought off Grade I competition to win in his gutsiest performance yet.

But was it enough? Riding right up the 2 yr old colt rankings, Curling was now looking at yet another big jump. The Breeders' Bowl Juvenile (Grade I) was staring him right in the eye, and Curling and Snowclan stared back. It was not only the best class of competition he'd ever faced, but it was also his first go-round at two turns, and this from a horse that had nightmares fading in the stretch of one-turn sprints. But it's not like Snowclan hadn't made leaps of faith with this magic horse. He had, and usually Curling came out on top when he did.

And the oddsmakers weren't sure this time either. At better than 10 to 1, he was sixth choice in the betting. And with 15 year vet jock T Loesch in the irons, who's won better than one of every four races in his career, Curling flew out to his customary lead, but this time even farther, a full 4 lengths at the second call.   Then they came for him after the 2 nd turn, and they came hard. But still he stayed. And when they finally hit the wire, it was a spent Curling by a half a length. He had crossed the triple-digit speed mark, marking his fifth straight increase in speed. It was his best performance in his most important and pressure-filled race. It was here that the Snowclan barn knew they had the best 2 year old colt on dirt, and maybe in the game today.

Curling had an anti-climactic bounce in his last outing of the year, the Grade I Movieland Futurity, fading badly in the stretch, but he proved to the Eclipse voters that he had what it takes to be voted the best at his age on the dirt. He's handled sprints and routes, he's faced down the best in his class, and he's already working on his second million earned in less than a year of racing.

I have had some small experience with precocious horses in this venue, with the Eclipse winner in 2001 (2 yr old Turf filly Dancing Blade), and I also raced against some of the best horses the game has ever seen. This one reminds me of a young Lex Luthor. I always like my own horses to be able to rate when they have to, but sometimes, you have a speed horse that just doesn't stop running. Lex Luthor was one. He could get a mile and a half from wire to wire better than perhaps any horse to ever run in this game. If Curling keeps the curve up, Lex might have a protégé following his lead.

A great pedigree (both for the horse and the trainer), a smart campaign where he wasn't overworked, and a huge upside on speed and form makes for a wide open future for both Snowclan and his star colt. Not a bad eye for opportunity this kid has.