Lightly-raced two-year-old Ride On Curlin gave an impressive performance in Saturday's fourth race at Ellis Park, breaking the track record for 5-1/2 furlongs in a fashion that suggests he could be a budding star.
Trained by William Gowen, the son of Curlin broke a step slowly but was quickly sent to the lead by jockey Calvin Borel and led the way by 1 1/2 lengths through an opening quarter in :22.75 seconds. Union Hall was tracking him in second, followed by Innovative Fashion, Victory Colors, Thatcher Street, and Roman Unbridled.
The positions remained unchanged around the turn, but entering the homestretch Ride On Curlin drifted out a bit and allowed Union Hall to seize command of the rail. For a few brief moments, it appeared that Union Hall had the momentum to challenge Ride On Curlin, but the latter found another gear when urged by Borel and drew off powerfully to win by 7 3/4 lengths, with seemingly something left at the finish. The final time for 5-1/2 furlongs was a very quick 1:03 flat, the result of Ride On Curlin blazing his final three-sixteenths in a spectacular :17.51 seconds.
The time eclipsed the track record of 1:03.29 set by Don Manuel on August 20th, 2006.
Union Hall finished second, 8 1/4 lengths clear of Thatcher Street. Victory Colors, Innovative Fashion, and Roman Unbridled completed the order of finish.
Ride On Curlin is a son of Curlin out of the Storm Cat mare Magical Ride. Owned by Daniel J. Dougherty and bred by G. Watts Humphrey Jr. and Louise Ireland Humphrey Revocable Trust, Ride On Curlin has now compiled a record of 1-1-0 from two starts, with earnings of $26,700.
-Keelerman
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