Keen Ice breezes half-mile, joins American Pharoah on Belmont-bound flight

Keen Ice (Curlin) put in his final work Tuesday at Churchill Downs before

taking on Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof

the Nile) in Saturday's $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park.

Seventh in the Kentucky Derby, Keen Ice breezed a half-mile in :50 1/5 with

Tammy Fox in the saddle for trainer Dale Romans at approximately 6:15 a.m.

(EDT). Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols timed Keen Ice in splits of :12 2/5,

:25 and :37 3/5 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:04 2/5.

"I thought he looked great and he worked great; it looked perfect," Romans

said. "He's doing so good that it's scary. It's all a matter of whether or not

he's good enough. There's not another fear to have."

Keen Ice has displayed no early speed in his last three starts, dropping back

to last or next-to-last before offering a rally, and Romans is expecting a

change of tactics in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont.

American Pharoah walked the Churchill Downs shed row of Barn 33 Tuesday

morning before departing Churchill Downs at 10 a.m. for a van ride to Louisville

International Airport for his flight to New York.

The H.E. "Tex" Sutton Forwarding Co. charter flight, which also included Keen

Ice, departed at 11:40 a.m. and was due to arrive at Long Island MacArthur

Airport around 1:15 p.m.

"He looked very good this morning; we're loaded, packed and ready to go,"

said trainer Bob Baffert's assistant Jimmy Barnes, one day after American

Pharoah breezed five furlongs in 1:00 1/5. "My mind right now is focusing on

getting a safe trip to New York and what kind of post position we'll draw and

all that. But other than that it's just anxiousness. You just want to run the

race.

"We've done everything we can do on our part, except for getting a safe trip

to New York and getting through the paddock and then it will be all up to Victor

(Espinoza)."