Curlin breezes easy half-mile

LOUISVILLE, Ky. Curlin, one of the top threats to Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense in the upcoming Preakness, breezed a very easy half-mile early Monday at Churchill Downs in preparation for the second leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday.

With exercise rider Carlos Rosas aboard, and without company, Curlin was caught in 51 seconds over a fast track after going to the track shortly after dawn. Trainer Steve Asmussen had designed the work as nothing more than a maintenance breeze following the colts third-place finish behind Street Sense in the May 5 Derby.

Curlin, Street Sense, and another 20 or so Kentucky-based horses are scheduled to be flown Wednesday to Baltimore for the Preakness and other weekend races at Pimlico. Street Sense is scheduled to work Tuesday at Churchill.