Triple Crown Palate Cleanser

Curlin and Pancho survey the land at Churchill (JerryLewis)

Since we’re fortunate enough to have Curlin running in the US weekend, I thought I’d take a moment to help us all transition from the long and tiring Triple Crown by way of a Curlin palate cleanser, if you will.

Curlin is set to break from the first post position in the Stephen Foster this weekend, despite his weight assignment. The entire card is action packed so it looks like I won’t get that handicapping break I was thinking of taking!

Fellow TBA-er Superfecta nominates Curlin as our ambassador as he prepares to gallivant around the globe. I agree! She also points out that he has a foundation, which is a part of his site, which has a section about Pancho! (below the human caregivers, which are also nice to see).

Who? Curlin’s stable pony! You may remember that Bloodhorse’s Morning Line Goes to Dubai blog had a post on him as he accompanied Curlin to Dubai.

Scott Blasi, assistant trainer for Curlin was quoted as saying:

You can tell Curlin relaxes when Pancho is by his side. Curlin is so big, but Pancho doesnt get intimidated. Hes even bigger than Curlin and hes so seasonedhes been everywhere with the stable.

And back at the Go Curlin site, the following post World Cup heartwarming scene was described:

After being festooned with a bright red fringed cooler proclaiming him the winner of the worlds richest race, Curlin made his way out of the crowded enclosure, the intensity of the race still vividly on his face. Yet when he saw Pancho, his ears shot up, and the pair walked out together, sharing in a small way this win that they both had worked so hard to achieve.

I was first alerted to Pancho by Swifty, who, on one of our many phone calls, told me to search Pancho in the Facebook groups (without telling me what that meant)… I quickly found out. Curlin also has a fan page on Facebook.

Here are some highlights to get you in mood for Curlin this weekend (sans last year’s Triple Crown, we want to stay focused on moving forward). And just remember, after all is said and done, he gets to come home to Pancho afterwards! We should all be so lucky!

Jockey Club Gold Cup – the performance that answered any remaining questions I had about Curlin