Street Sense blazes five furlongs under Twin Spires

Street Sense and Calvin Borel taking a spin around the track (Michael J. Marten/Horsephotos.com)

Kentucky Derby (G1) hero STREET SENSE (Street Cry [Ire]) sizzled five

furlongs in a bullet :57 2/5 under jockey Calvin Borel at Churchill Downs on

Thursday.

The work was easily the fastest of 15 at the distance and a full three

seconds faster than the day's next best move. The Carl Nafzger trainee was

clocked in fractions of :12 1/5, :24 1/5, :35 3/5 and :47 2/5, which means he

finished his final eighth-mile in :10 seconds flat. Street Sense galloped out six

furlongs in a remarkable 1:09 4/5.

The move came over a fast track shortly before the mid-morning break for

track maintenance. The track yielded no other spectacular workout times during

four hours of training, and several horsemen described the surface as being

"deeper than usual."

It was the final workout for Street Sense at Churchill Downs before he

departs for Saratoga on Saturday. The reigning juvenile champion is slated to

run in either the $500,000 Jim Dandy S. (G2) on July 29 at Saratoga or the $1

million Haskell Invitational (G1) on August 5 at Monmouth Park.

"He's happy right now," Borel said. "He's had a little freshening. He's put

on about 50 pounds, and he's wanting to do it now. I never moved on him this

morning. He kind of worked like he did going to the Breeders' Cup. He's

unbelievable -- the older he gets, he's getting better and better."

Trainer Ian Wilkes, a longtime assistant to Nafzger, oversaw the work for the

colt's trainer, who is on vacation and was not present for the trial. Wilkes

said Nafzger wanted a "strong work." The James Tafel homebred has not competed

since finishing a close second to Curlin (Smart Strike) in the May 19 Preakness

S. (G1) at Pimlico.