BY ED McNAMARA
He didn't look bad, but he didn't look great. Finishing second making your turf debut in a Grade I would be a triumph for most horses. For Curlin, it was a disappointment, and his proposed trip to France is on hold.
The defending Horse of the Year never looked like a winner in the Man o' War Stakes at Belmont Park yesterday, when he lost by two lengths to Red Rocks, winner of the 2006 Breeders' Cup Turf. Better Talk Now, who took the 2004 Turf, was third, a half-length farther back.
"Obviously, he didn't grab me like he normally does," jockey Robby Albarado said. "His acceleration was a little different. It wasn't an awful race, and he was up against it with two Breeders' Cup winners. I'd like to see him get another shot on the turf. It was like a first race for him, a new chapter. He felt comfortable over it. But to say that he loves it? Maybe next time will be his show-up race."
Curlin didn't have the best of trips, breaking a step slowly after hitting the gate and being four-wide down the backstretch and into the stretch. The 2-5 favorite stalked Red Rocks from fourth while Mission Approved and Sudan set a foolishly fast pace, with a quarter in 22.69 seconds and a half-mile in 47.62. Sudan and Mission Approved were still 1-2 after a mile in 1:35.9, but the battle clearly would be between Red Rocks and Curlin.
Curlin beaten at Belmont in his turf debut....
