Commanding Curve, Ride On Curlin, Wicked Strong post works

Kentucky Derby runner-up Commanding Curve had his

first

and only breeze over the Belmont oval before the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, covering

four furlongs in :47 1/5 on Sunday. The West Point Thoroughbreds runner posted

the third quickest of 25 moves at the distance on the fast main track.

Going in company with Cost Affective from the barn of Tom Albertrani, the

Dallas Stewart-trained Commanding Curve was kept under a hold as he finished approximately

one length in front of his workmate. Cost Affective clocked :47 3/5.

"I thought he worked great," Stewart said.

"I've never seen him work any better. It was easy, and he was calm and perfect.

He came back not blowing. That's the thing about him: he never gets tired. It

was just a great day for him. We'll take it."

Commanding Curve, who has compiled a record of 7-1-2-2, was last seen

rallying late in the May 3 Kentucky Derby. After lagging

12 lengths behind the leader in 18th, Commanding Curve made a steady run to

finish best of the rest, 1 3/4 lengths behind California Chrome.

Also on the worktab for Stewart were Unbridled Forever

(four furlongs in :48 2/5) aiming for the Grade 1 Acorn, and Golden

Soul (four furlongs in :47.15), who is targeting the Grade 2 Brooklyn

Invitational. Both the Acorn and Brooklyn Invitational will be contested on

Belmont Stakes Day.

Preakness runner-up Ride On Curlin put in his first timed breeze since

arriving at Belmont Park on May 20, a

seven-furlong work in 1:28 on Sunday morning. Regular exercise rider Bryan Beccia

was aboard for the exercise on the main track.

Trained by Billy Gowan for owner Daniel J. Dougherty, the

Belmont Stakes contender also went seven-eighths in his final tune-up prior to

the Kentucky Derby, where he finished seventh behind California Chrome following

a rough trip.

"I thought he went super," Gowan said. "He went just like I

told him. I told him to go slow the first quarter, and he went in :27.

He went the last quarter in :24. It was just what we wanted, mainly to just get

some air into him. If I work him a half-mile, he may get too speed crazy. As

long as he was going slow, that's all we needed."

Watching the work with Gowan was Hall of Fame jockey John

Velazquez, who will be aboard Ride On Curlin for the first time in the Belmont.

Velazquez has ridden two Belmont winners: the filly Rags to Riches in 2007 and

Union Rags in 2012.

"One good thing about the horse is that he's easy to ride.

He relaxes when he gets around horses, and he doesn't get speed crazy or

anything," Gowan said. "He can pretty much ride him any way he wants to. I've

told all his riders that. He's probably the easiest horse you've ever ridden in

your life. He showed that today. He was nice and relaxed. He doesn't get too

worked up about anything, but when you ask him he's still full of run."

Gowan said Ride On Curlin will walk the shed row on Monday

morning and go back to the track on Tuesday. His sire, two-time Horse of the

Year Curlin, was second to Rags to Riches in the 2007 Belmont.

"We'll just gallop him easy. He doesn't need much," Gowan

said. "We'll probably take him slow every day, and just keep him happy. I'm just

happy with the way my horse is going. We come in every morning, and he's

hollering for his feed. He's just a tough horse."

On the fast training track, Belmont hopeful Wicked Strong

breezed five furlongs in

a bullet :59, the quickest of 12 Sunday workouts at the distance.

As it happened, working just ahead of him was the 2013 Belmont Stakes winner

Palace Malice for Todd Pletcher. Wicked Strong began several lengths behind Palace

Malice and his workmate Celebrator and was eager to catch the Pletcher pair, but

exercise rider Kelvin Pahal kept Wicked Strong in check.

"I thought he went real good," said Jimmy Jerkens, who trains

Wicked Strong for Centennial Farm. "It was a little fast, but (Pahal) saw

me put my hand up to slow down, and he did. He didn't pull him back, but he

didn't urge him any.

"It looked like he saw (Palace Malice and Celebrator) ahead

of him and really got into gear around the turn and was approaching them fast,

which is why I slowed him down. Sometimes they (catch horses ahead of them). You

don't mind them doing it if (the other horses) are only a few lengths in front,

but when they are six lengths in front it's a different story. But it was good.

I'm happy with it."

Wicked Strong won the TwinSpires.com Wood

Memorial April 5, but endured trouble when fourth, 5 3/4 lengths behind California Chrome, in the

Kentucky Derby. The son of Hard Spun had blowout workouts

before the Wood and the Derby but will not have a blowout before the Belmont

Stakes, according to Jerkens.

"He'll probably just gallop into the race," Jerkens said.

"He gallops pretty steadily. I blew him out at Churchill because he wasn't

really getting into the bridle when he galloped. He was really distracted, which

is why we gave him a little something."

Back on the main track, George J. Prussin's Matuszak breezed five furlongs in

1:00 4/5 Sunday morning in his final serious work for

Saturday's Belmont Stakes.

The son of Bernardini went in company with fellow

three-year-old colt Maximus Mike for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. A maiden winner

in April at Aqueduct, Maximus Mike was clocked in 1:02.

"He just needed some company, that's all; anything to get

him started," Mott said. "It was great. He came home very well. I might be

wrong, but I got him coming home in under 23 seconds. He went very well."

Sunday marked the fourth straight five-eighths work at Belmont for Matuszak, who fired bullets of

:59 4/5 on the training track May 12 and

:59 3/5 on the 1 1/2-mile main oval on May 19. He was also timed in 1:01 2/5 on 

the main track May 26.

Mott has been thrilled with the late spring development of

Matuszak, who the trainer said is not ordinarily an eye-catching work horse.

"He's been working quite well. The last three works have

been pretty good," Mott said. "I realize we're kind of a longshot and we're

reaching, but the horse is actually coming around at the right time, whatever

that may mean."

Mott captured the 2010 Belmont with Drosselmeyer at odds of

13-1 and has had five previous starters in the race, including Vision and Verse,

who finished sixth behind Lemon Drop Kid in 1999 when Charismatic was vying for

a Triple Crown.

Stabled in the barn next to Mott is Kentucky Derby and

Preakness winner California Chrome, who will try to become the 12th Triple Crown

champion and first since 1978 on Saturday.

"If California Chrome wins, I'll be excited just because

we'll have another Triple Crown winner," Mott said. "In the meantime, we'll do

our best to try and beat every horse in the race that we can."

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