Going into the Kentucky Derby, no horse generated more arguments than Curlin, the morning-line favorite at 7-2.
Curlin, a striking chestnut colt, made his first start in February and won his first three races by daylight, including a 101/2-length runaway in the Arkansas Derby. He was attempting to become the first horse to win the Run for the Roses off three starts since 1915, and the first without racing as a 2-year-old since 1882.
The pro-Curlin camp held he was the best horse in the Derby, period, and that was enough to overcome his lack of seasoning. The cons said no matter how talented Curlin might be, he was too inexperienced to handle the Derby pressure.
In the Derby, breaking from post 2, Curlin got shuffled back early but then “made a bold run five wide,” according to the chart footnotes, to finish third, beaten eight lengths.
Curlin’s fans were disappointed; his critics were impressed.
In Saturday’s 132nd Preakness, Curlin will again take on the Derby’s 1-2 finishers, Street Sense and Hard Spun, going a mile-and-three-sixteenths at Pimlico. Yesterday at Churchill Downs, he tuned up for that rematch with a leisurely half-mile workout in :51, strolling through fractions of :13.1, :26.1 and :38.4, galloping out five furlongs in 1:05.
“He looked nice, smooth and relaxed,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “He’s still Curlin, a great big old horse that covers a lot of ground. He galloped out real loose and seemed to come back very easy.”
Curlin “came out of the [Derby] really well,” Asmussen said.
“But I was curious to see, with him never being beat before, how he would go back to the track,” Asmussen said. “He was very patient, and that was the one thing I was really wanting to see, that he didn’t tighten up or get nervous.”
Now that Street Sense is the only runner left who can sweep the Triple Crown, the Derby winner will have the proverbial bull’s-eye on his back. But Asmussen said he has other things on his mind.
“We’re trying to win the Preakness, not taking a shot at anybody,” he said. “[Curlin] finished third in the Kentucky Derby, beating 17 of the best 3-year-olds in his fourth race. Now we’ve got to figure out how to beat the other two.”
Curlin and Street Sense fly from Kentucky to Baltimore tomorrow, when a field of eight or nine is expected to be entered in the Preakness. Post positions will be selected on ESPN late tomorrow (4:30-5:30 p.m.).
One new possible starter is Circular Quay, who worked four furlongs in :48.2 yesterday at Belmont Park. A late-running sixth in the Derby making his first start in eight weeks after winning the Louisiana Derby, Circular Quay is trained by Todd Pletcher, who also has King of the Roxy.
CP West also worked yesterday, at Belmont, sizzling a half in :47.1.
“Everything went well,” said trainer Nick Zito, who has had 17 Preakness starters, winning with Louis Quatorze in 1996. “He finished up in :59 and change. It was pretty much what we wanted.”
An impressive maiden winner in his Saratoga debut last summer, CP West hasn’t won in four starts since, although he has run second three times, including the Withers last out.
“He acted like a promising 2-year-old, and we’re hoping he continues to improve as a 3-year-old,” Zito said.
Mint Slewlep, the only Preakness runner on the grounds at Pimlico, worked five furlongs in :59.4 yesterday for trainer Robbie Bailes.