Curlin in good shape after Man o' War loss

Horse of the Year CURLIN (Smart Strike), who finished runner-up to Red Rocks

(Ire) (Galileo [Ire]) in Saturday's Man o' War S. (G1), exited his turf debut in

good order and was on his way to Saratoga Sunday morning. Plans call for the

champion to train on the Oklahoma training track in advance of his yet to be

determined target.

"Physically, he came out of the race great," trainer Steve Asmussen said,

adding that he would evaluate the colt during the weeks ahead and that he was

considering "all options" at this point.

"There is no time frame -- the evaluation will be continual," Asmussen said.

"Our options are open."

Principal owner Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables said Saturday that those

options could include another start on turf, which if successful, could send

Curlin to France's Longchamp Race Course for the Prix Foy (Fr-G2) on September

14 and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) on October 5. He also mentioned the

Irish Champion S. (Ire-G1) on September 6 at Leopardstown as a possibility.

"We know what he can do on dirt, so we can always go back," Jackson said.

"We'll need to see how he rebounds from this race, and then I'll talk to Steve."

Curlin's loss in the Man o' War snapped a five-race winning streak that

embraced the Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational S. (G1), Breeders' Cup Classic

(G1), a handicap race at Nad al Sheba, the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) and the

Stephen Foster H. (G1). Never worse than third in 13 outings, the powerful

chestnut has compiled a 9-2-2 record. He has amassed $9,496,800 in earnings,

$503,015 shy of Cigar's North American benchmark of $9,999,815.