OAKLAWN COUNTDOWN

Pitts eyes her next big payoff

Thursday, January 10, 2013

— Steve Asmussen’s name may be synonymous with Curlin, but the future Hall of Fame trainer wasn’t the first person to saddle the future Hall of Fame horse.

That would be Helen Pitts, 38, who is wintering at Oaklawn Park for the first time this year.

“The hard part was putting him on the van when he left,” Pitts said during training hours Wednesday morning.

Curlin made his first career start for Pitts, who watched the powerful chestnut draw away to a 123/4-length victory in February 2007 at Gulfstream Park in Florida, then sold him about 24 hours later for a reported $3.5 million to a group headed by California wine mogul Jess Jackson.

Curlin went on to become Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008, and retired with $10.5 million in career earnings, a North American record.

“I was happy that he went on to do well for Steve and Scott,” Pitts said, referring to her brother-in-law, Scott Blasi, Asmussen’s top assistant. “Just the fact that he turned out to be a nice horse, it feels like my time that I spent with him and the time that I took with him paid off well, whether it was with me or somebody else.”

Pitts said her phone lit up after Curlin’s jaw-dropping debut, with numerous parties interested in buying the son of Smart Strike, pur-

chased for only $57,000 as a

yearling.

It quickly became evident,

Pitts said, that Curlin would

be sold.

“It was just a matter of who

and who had the most money,”

Pitts said.

Curlin may have broken the

bank, but he didn’t break his

original trainer.

Pitts quickly rebounded

with Einstein, who emerged as

a Grade I winner on dirt and

turf and earned $2.9 million in

30 lifetime starts in 2005-2009.

“At least I had him to back

it up,” Pitts said. “He was phe

nomenal. He’d run down a

rock road. He didn’t care.” The new year begins with

Pitts trying to find another Cur

lin or Einstein in a new place.

Pitts had previously been

based during the winter at

Fair Grounds in New Orleans,

but she decided she wanted a

change of venue and should

have around 20 horses during

the Oaklawn meeting that be

gins Friday.

Pitts was an assistant to

Kenny McPeek during her last

trip to Hot Springs, accompa

nying Wild Desert for the 2005

Arkansas Derby.

Pitts went out on her own a

few months later and amassed

191 victories and $9.2 million

in purse earnings, according to

Equibase, racing’s official data

gathering organization.

Pitts said her stable includes

a couple of promising maidens,

including Islamorada, an un

started 3-year-old daughter of

Smart Strike out of Cat Cay, a

Grade II winner of $488,840.

Pitts calls Islamorada a

“nice filly” who “may want to

go a route of ground.” Islamorada will prob

ably run before the end of the

month, Pitts said.

Jojo’s Revenge, an unstarted

3-year-old Ghostzapper colt,

could make his career debut

Jan. 20, Pitts said.

“Just hope to have a good

meet and win a few races,”

Pitts said.

Sports, Pages 15 on 01/10/2013