Curlin continues to work his way to his four-year-old debut(Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com)

Horse of the Year CURLIN (Smart Strike) and Triple Crown hopeful PYRO (Pulpit) finished noses apart while working six furlongs in 1:13 over a fast track at Fair Grounds on Wednesday.

"That was impressive," said trainer Steve Asmussen, whose watch had the workout two-fifths of a second faster. "I think we're right where we want to be with both of them."

Curlin, with regular exercise rider Carmen Rosas aboard, and Pyro, with Dominic Terry up, went to the track at about 6:20 a.m. (CST) and worked together through fractions of :24 3/5, :36 3/5, :49 and 1:00 4/5. They galloped out seven furlongs in 1:26 and a mile in 1:40 2/5.

The pair, who currently reside in adjacent stalls in Asmussen's barn, covered the final quarter-mile in :24 despite a strong headwind.

Curlin closed out his three-year-old campaign with a 4 1/2-length victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and has earned $5,102,800 from a record of 9-6-1-2. No determination has been made on where or when the striking chestnut will make his four-year-old debut, but he has been nominated to the $150,000 Mineshaft H. (G3) on February 9 at Fair Grounds.