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Curlin puts in final major breeze for Woodward Shortly after 6 a.m. (EDT) this morning, under a clear blue sky, 2007 Horse of the Year CURLIN (Smart Strike) finally got to work over the fast main track at Saratoga Race Course, drilling seven furlongs in 1:24 4/5 in his final serious move for the Woodward S. (G1) on August 30. Working along the rail in company with HAWAII CALLS (Fusaichi Pegasus), who was one of the 20 Woodward nominations released this morning by New York Racing Association Stakes Coordinator Andrew Byrnes, an aggressive Curlin cruised through splits of :24 3/5, :36 4/5, :48 4/5 and 1:00, galloping out in 1:37 4/5 after leaving his stablemate in the dust at the quarter-pole. Hawaii Calls completed his seven-furlong work in 1:25 3/5. "I told Shaun (Bridgmohan, aboard Hawaii Calls) last week, you better wear your goggles today because at the quarter-pole you're going to need them," Curlin's exercise rider Carmen Rosas said. "He handled the track beautiful." According to trainer Steve Asmussen, the four-year-old colt will have one more maintenance work on the Oklahoma training track prior to his engagement in the nine-furlong Woodward. "We felt it really important to get him over there one time before he ran," Asmussen said. "Whatever the weather wants to do here on out will be fine." Asmussen also said Curlin will school in the paddock between races this week, most likely on Thursday. "Whenever we are going to school him, we'll definitely let everybody know so it will be like what actually happens to him on that day," Asmussen said. Also breezing for Asmussen on Monday was Jim Dandy S. (G2) runner-up PYRO (Pulpit), who breezed four furlongs in :52 1/5 over the fast Oklahoma training track in his final work before Saturday's Travers S. (G1). "He's just there," Asmussen said. "He had a pretty strong race in the Jim Dandy and trying to get two good races out of a horse here can be pretty tricky." Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott added another possible starter for the Travers with COURT VISION (Gulch), who breezed five furlongs over the Oklahoma training track in 1:02 2/5 this morning. "Three or four days ago, the owners voted on it and that's what they wanted to do," Mott said referring to the IEAH Stables partnership that owns Court Vision. Court Vision has not won a race since taking the Remsen S. (G2) last November, but finished second by a nose last out in the Virginia Derby (G2) over the turf at Colonial Downs. IEAH Stables is also expected to run ACAI (Three Wonders), who has won back-to-back races for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., in the Travers. Also working for the Travers was the Mott-trained YOU AND I FOREVER (A.P. Indy), the Henry Walton S. runner-up who breezed five furlongs over the Oklahoma training track in 1:02 4/5.
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