Curlin’s Affair, a proven campaigner that bled his chances away on last, returned in pristine shape to show the way once again, this time in a three-year-old and upwards Overnight Allowance with a length-and-a-quarter win over five furlongs (1,000m) round at Caymanas Park on Saturday, July 23, 2022.

Not the best suited to the minimum trip on the round course, the four-year-old colt, trained by champion conditioner Anthony Nunes, is a proven campaigner in the class and sent off as the 4/5 favourite duly posted his third win for the season in a time of 1:01.1 seconds with accompanying split fractions of 23.4 and 47.3 seconds ridden by jockey Reyan Lewis.

El Profesor came in second under jockey Raddesh Roman and was hemmed in by the third-place finisher Generational, ridden by the claiming apprentice jockey Romario Spencer. Four and a quarter lengths behind was Artesia with Dick Cardenas in the irons.

“He is not duly considered a five-round horse, though he does have the beating of Overnight Allowance. It is the second time that he has come back down to the grade and has won. With this victory, he cannot remain on Overnight Allowance and will have to go back up to the higher grade within the next four months.

“Where he does have his difficulties is in Open Allowance. So returning to that grade, where the horses are better, he will need to show marked improvement or will remain in Overnight Allowance until he gets a little older, when he may show more improvement.

“We hope that he improves again, as he is a horse with some ability, to find his way into the Open Class with a measure of success,” Nunes said in his post-race interview.

Of note, Curlin’s Affair races in Open Allowance over the coming weekend.