HOFBURG CRUISES IN CURLIN, NEXT STOP THE TRAVERS
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Hofburg cruises in Curlin: next stop, the Travers Although he took most of the money at 1-5 and was coming off respectable performances in three consecutive Grade 1s, Hof burg still had something to prove in Friday’s $100,000 Curlin Stakes. After all, the record showed the imposing son of Curlin still had only a maiden win on his resume.
But not anymore. Content to track the speed over a sloppy (sealed) main track that had been battered by several rounds of semi-tropical downpours, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr sent Hofburg three-wide to the front approaching the quarter-pole. The Juddmonte Farm homebred responded at once, straightening out with a short lead and then powering through the lane to score by five widening lengths over Nicodemus. It was another nine lengths back to Zing Zang in third. Pacesetter American Lincoln and Madison’s Luna also ran.
The running time for 1 1/8 miles was 1:50.18.
Asked why he chose the ungraded Curlin over today’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy, Hofburg’s trainer Bill Mott said, “He’s coming out of three Grade 1 races, and we haven’t won any of them. I think we just wanted to give the horse a chance to win a race. Let him make the lead in the stretch and finish up a winner. I think it helps a
horse’s confidence.”
Hofburg broke last of the five starters but was never more than a half-dozen lengths off the pace, unlike in his Grade 1 outings where he had to come from further back.
“We wanted to be a little closer today,” said Ortiz, who has ridden Hofburg in all six career starts. “The track was sealed. Not too many horses came from off the pace, and we didn’t want anyone to steal the race. At [the half-mile pole] I put him in the clear and let him do his thing. When I asked him, he was there for me. He’s a nice horse.”
Hofburg didn’t appear all that comfortable in the paddock prior to the race.
“He was a little hot and a little agitated,” said Mott. “I was a little concerned, but I think mainly he just needed to run. He’s a little fresh right now, and I think he just wanted to get moving. Hopefully, when he comes back in the Travers (on Aug. 25) he’ll be a little cooler and a little more collected.”
Hofburg’s record improves to 2-1-1 in six starts, with earnings of $432,950.