Thanks to a Kentucky judge, Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Curlin, a shoo-in for 2007 Horse of the Year, has more than 400 new owners.
Judge William Wehr of Boone County, Ky., ruled Thursday that the 20 percent of Curlin still held by his original owners, attorneys William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. of Midnight Cry Stable, be turned over to the 418 plaintiffs. The plaintiffs charged that Gallion and Cunningham defrauded them of $64 million in a $200 million settlement stemming from a lawsuit against the diet drug fen-phen.
The plaintiffs replace the Midnight Cry pair in a partnership that includes Jess Jackson (Stonestreet Stables), Satish Sanaan (Padua Stables) and George Bolton, who together purchased 80 percent of Curlin after his 123/4-length maiden win at Gulfstream Park last February.
Curlin’s future is up in the air. After the Breeders’ Cup, Jackson said he was torn between retiring the big chestnut to stud or having him race again next year as a 4-year-old. After Judge Wehr’s ruling, an attorney for the plaintiffs said they wanted to sell the colt.
