Preakness Profiles: Ride on Curlin

Who he is

Since breaking his maiden at Ellis Park in his second start last summer, Ride On Curlin has competed in seven stakes, six of them graded where he has been second once, third three times and fourth once before running seventh in the Kentucky Derby. His sire, Curlin, won the Preakness and the Breeders Cup Classic and now the William G. Gowan trainee is looking to follow in his father’s footsteps.  His dam, Magical Ride, was a graded stakes-placed daughter of uber-sire Storm Cat.

What they’re saying

“If we can get a clean trip, we’ll just see [what happens],” Gowan said. “California Chrome is an awful nice horse. I’d just like a clean trip and see what the horse is really made of. I thought it’d be our day in the Derby. Maybe it’ll be our day in the Preakness. It looked like he got over the track [at Pimlico on Tuesday morning]. Every track he’s ever been on he’s gone over good.”

[boxify cols_use =”3″ cols =”6″ position =”right” box_spacing =”5″ padding =”3″ background_color =”gray” background_opacity =”10″ border_width =”1″ border_color =”red” border_style =”dashed” height =”250″ ]Ride on Curlin File

• Trainer Billy Gowan
• Owner Daniel J. Dougherty
• Bred in Kentucky by : G. Watts Humphrey Jr. & Louise Ireland Humphrey Revocable Trust – 2008
• Breeding Curlin out of Magical Ride, by Storm Cat
• Record 10-2-2-4, earnings of $414,687
• Career highlight Second in Grade 1 Arkansas Derby[/boxify]

Why he could win

Not only does Ride On Curlin have plenty of experience, he boasts a 2-2-4 slate and $415,000 bankroll from 10 career outings.  He has already competed in three Grade I races, one Grade II and two Grade III events. So he clearly has not ducked any of his rivals, and his connections have obviously thought highly enough of him to keep spotting the Curlin colt so ambitiously. He was seventh in the Derby after a troubled trip but closed nicely once he found a seam.  Of the Preakness starters only California Chrome finished ahead of him that day.

Why he could lose

While Ride On Curlin arrives with plenty of racing and graded stakes experience, including a runner-up effort in the Grade I Arkansas Derby behind Danza, who was third in the Kentucky Derby, he has actually never won a stakes race. His wins have come against maiden special weight and allowance company, and he’s still eligible for non-winners of two other than or three races lifetime conditions. He gets another chance to shed his stakes bridesmaid status and will hope to have a cleaner trip under new rider Joel Rosario.