In 2007, Curlin earned a place in all three legs of the Triple Crown. A member of a particularly classy and contentious crop, he took third in the Kentucky Derby (G1) to Street Sense and Hard Spun ; won the Preakness Stakes (G1) with his Derby conquerors in second and third; and, missed by a head in the Belmont Stakes (G1) after an epic duel with the filly Rags to Riches.
Following his classic efforts, Curlin succeeded in asserting himself at the head of the division, taking the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), earning Eclipse Awards as champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year. Remaining in training at 4, Curlin successful defended his Horse of the Year crown, and although he finished second in the Man o’ War Stakes (G1T) on the turf and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on Oak Tree’s all-weather surface, he was undefeated in five outings on dirt, including the Dubai World Cup (G1), Stephen Foster Handicap (G1), Woodward Stakes (G1), and a second win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes.
As a stallion, Curlin developed into one of the leading classic influences of his era, with Preakness Stakes winners Exaggerator (2016) and Journalism (2025) and a Belmont Stakes scorer in Palace Malice (2013), with four other sons—Good Magic , Tenfold, Keen Ice , and Irish War Cry —and one daughter, Nest, earning places in Triple Crown events. He is also the paternal grandsire of Kentucky Derby winners Mage (2023, by Good Magic) and Rich Strike (2022, by Keen Ice), and of Belmont Stakes captor Dornoch (2024, Good Magic).
Now 22 years old, the veteran sire currently has another potential Triple Crown contender in the shape of Golden Tempo, who closed well to earn 20 Kentucky Derby (G1) points with a 3/4-length tally in the Lecomte Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Jan.17. Although a winning Equibase Speed Figure of 84 indicates that Golden Tempo has some way to go to be a classic threat, he does have one thing in common with Curlin in that he has taken a points-paying Derby trial with a sprint victory as his only previous start. In the case of Curlin, a 12 3/4-length win in a 7-furlong maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park presaged his Rebel Stakes (G3) triumph, while Golden Tempo came from last in a 10-horse field to score by 1 1/2 lengths in a 6-furlong maiden special weight at Fair Grounds Dec. 20.
In addition to Curlin’s qualifications as a classic sire, the distaff side of Golden Tempo’s pedigree also suggests that classic distances will be no problem for him. His dam Carrumba is by Bernardini, a champion 3-year-old whose successes included the Preakness Stakes, Travers Stakes (G1), and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Carrumba captured the Top Flight Handicap (G3) over 9 furlongs, and her seven black-type places include seconds in the Ruffian Stakes (G2), Comely Stakes (G3), Shuvee Handicap (G3), and Allaire Dupont Distaff Stakes (G3), and a third in the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1).
Carrumba’s dam, Castanet, is an El Prado half sister to Dancing Forever, who was successful in the Manhattan Handicap (G1T) at 10 furlongs and the 12-furlong Elkhorn Stakes (G2T). Dancinginmydreams, the granddam of Carrumba, started only three times, winning a maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course, missing by a neck in the Matron Stakes (G1), and then breaking down in the Frizette Stakes (G1).
By Seeking the Gold out of the Nijinsky II mare, Oh What a Dance, Dancinginmydreams is a full sister to champion 3-year-old filly Heavenly Prize and Matron Stakes (G1) victress Oh What a Windfall. Heavenly Prize subsequently proved a very successful foundation mare, and she appears as the dam of grade 1 winner Good Reward; graded winner and good sire Pure Prize; and stakes winner Cosmic; and her descendants include grade 1 scorers Instilled Regard , Persistently, and her son W Heart Bond, and Queen Goddess.
By Nijinsky II out of the Phipps foundation mare Blitey (a daughter of 1966 champion 3-year-old filly Lady Pitt), Oh What a Dance is a full sister to Dancing Spree, winner of three grade 1 events, including the 1989 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), and Dancing All Night, who captured the Long Island Handicap (G2T). Overall, Blitey is the ancestress of more than 60 stakes winners, no less than 20 group or grade 1, headed by 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline .
Golden Tempo is the latest notable for the remarkably successful cross of Curlin over mares by Bernardini, which has produced 11 stakes winners from 42 starters (26%), including grade 1 winners Clairiere and Paris Lights. The Curlin/Bernardini cross is a version of a broader pattern of Curlin crossed over mares by A.P. Indy and his sons and grandsons, which is responsible for a total of 29 stakes winners and eight grade 1 winners.
It’s also interesting to note that Curlin is by a son of Mr. Prospector out of a mare who is a Northern Dancer/Sir Ivor cross, while Castanet, the granddam of Golden Tempo, is by a stallion bred on a Northern Dancer/Sir Ivor cross out of a mare by a son of Mr. Prospector.
