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Title: Curlin unrivaled in 2008 Jockey Club Gold Cup
Tags: Curlin
Blog Entry: Curlin will become the first racehorse to win over $10,000,000 when he wins the Jockey Club Gold Cup today. Don't get me wrong, as much as I like Curlin, I would love to beat him even more, and profit from his defeat today. However, his rivals in this race are a really disappointing lot who don't have a chance in hell of beating Curlin unless they've paid off the gate crew to load him in backwards. What I would look for to beat Curlin is enough speed to last in front of this stalker. Not necessarily one horse, but someone needs to set a strong pace, and they probably won't last at 1 1/4 miles, so there needs to at least be a very respectable heavy-duty presser or hair-trigger stalker getting the jump on Curlin and never letting him catch up. This field is not very inspiring. There are plenty of horses here who've had to drop down to Optional Claimers to pick up a win--at least one even failed when dropping down in class like that. I will key Curlin on top, and look for some value in the exacta and tri. Mambo in Seattle is getting a lot of hype, and may be all I have to beat out of the exacta. Although I cringed a little when Mambo passed my horses in the Travers--as they were playing bumper cars at the top of the lane--the final time kept me off the Mambo bandwagon. I hope he will be too late to break the exacta. It's not hard to find a price in this field. Go for a score, and take on some long shots to fill out your exotics. On Friday I liked Timber Reserve, but of course he scratched out today after the track came up muddy. Wanderin Boy figures to be the pace, and he can run over an off track--but he leaves something to be desired as far as lasting over a mile, so I don't think I can use him. I will give Stones River a chance, and root for Larry Jones. His entry can run over an off track and close up on the pace when asked. Pletcher has two very iffy horses--A.P. Arrow and Ravel. Both have shown ability before, but have not been in terrific form. Those are the only others I would take a chance on. If you play Curlin/Mambo, you really need to find someone to fill out a tri at least. Don't forget, the race is on ESPNEWS today. DETAILS