HORSE RACING NEWS & RESULTS

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PREAKNESS WINNER CURLIN, UNBEATEN TIZ WONDERFUL WORK IN COMPANY FOR ASMUSSEN Preakness (Grade I) winner Curlin and unbeaten Tiz Wonderful, the top 3-year-olds in trainer Steve Asmussen's powerful stable, worked as a team on Monday at Churchill Downs as both horses prepared for their return to racing over the next few weeks.

Curlin, who has not competed since his runner-up finish to Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Rags to Riches in the Belmont Stakes (GI) on June 9, and Tiz Wonderful, who has been away from racing since his victory in the $200,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs in late November, breezed six furlongs in company over a "fast" track.

The two horses completed the move in 1:12.80, although Curlin finished about a neck in front of his stablemate and was going the better of the two throughout the work. Tiz Wonderful, ridden by exercise rider Carmen Rosas, broke off about 2 -lengths in front of Curlin, who had Preakness-winning jockey Robby Albarado in the saddle. Curlin quickly narrowed his deficit to about a length and remained just behind and to the outside of his workmate around the far turn. Curlin, with Albarado motionless in the irons, eased up alongside Tiz Wonderful in upper stretch as the latter worked hard to keep up with his classic-winning stablemate.

The pair ran together down the lane until Curlin nudged ahead near the wire with no encouragement from Albarado. Fractional times for the work were :13, :25.40, :37.30, :49.20 and 1:01.40. Both horses galloped out a strong seven furlongs in 1:25.80.

"I think it was an excellent work," said Asmussen. "Tiz blew quite a bit, which he needed. How he comes out of it and what he does from here will be very important."

Curlin is working toward a planned run in the $1 million Haskell Invitational (GI) on Aug. 5 at Monmouth Park. Tiz Wonderful, who was knocked off of the road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (GI) by a tendon injury, is being pointed toward the $500,000 Jim Dandy (GII) on July 29 at Saratoga and could meet Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Street Sense in that spot.

"Scott (assistant trainer Scott Blasi) said it was time for Tiz Wonderful to step out of the kiddie pool," said Asmussen. "He stayed on (with Curlin) and galloped out good. Of course he had to work harder, but that's where he's at. But it's time. He's got one more serious move between now and his race."

Both Curlin and Tiz Wonderful are scheduled to leave Asmussen's barn at Churchill Downs on Thursday and head to Saratoga for the summer. Curlin is owned by Stonestreet Farm, Padua Stable, George Bolton and Midnight Cry Stable, while Tiz Wonderful is owned by Stonestreet Farm.

Also working for Asmussen on Monday was Zanjero, the 12th-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old Cherokee Run colt breezed five furlongs in 1:04.40 under exercise rider Dominic Terry. The runner-up to Chelokee in the Northern Dancer Breeders' Cup (GIII) is being pointed toward the $750,000 West Virginia Derby (GIII) at Mountaineer Park on Aug. 4.

BRADLEY 'LEANING TOWARD' GRADE I WHITNEY FOR BRASS HAT With his track record setting return to racing behind him, trainer William "Buff" Bradley is looking at options for the resurgent Brass Hat and a trip to Saratoga could loom in the future for the 6-year-old gelding.

Fred Bradley's homebred son of Prized dazzled the crowd assembled for Sunday's final racing day of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet when won a hard-fought duel with stakes veteran Student Council in his return from a year on the sidelines. The winner of the 2006 Donn Handicap (GI) won by a head under jockey Willie Martinez and stopped the clock in a record 1.41.27 for 1 1/16-miles a winning time that erased the previous standard set by Yes Sir over a frozen track nearly 37 years earlier.

Buff Bradley, who trains Brass Hat for his father, said his veteran star was doing well on the morning after his second return from a major injury. He had not run since a fifth-place finish behind Seek Gold in last year's Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) at Churchill Downs. He had cracked a sesamoid in his right front leg as he galloped out following a workout at the Trackside Louisville training center shortly after that race.

"He came out it good and ate up," said Bradley. "We could tell that last night, though. He was very alert. I got to the test barn (after the race) and they had told me that he wasn't blowing."

Bradley will closely monitor the condition of his veteran star in the aftermath of his impressive comeback, but he is looking for the next step in Brass Hat's 2007 campaign. He has, for the moment, narrowed that search to the $750,000 Whitney (GI) at Saratoga and the $300,000 Washington Park Handicap (GII) over Polytrack at Arlington Park. Both races are scheduled for July 28, and Bradley said he was "leaning toward" the former for Brass Hat's return to stakes competition.

"I wish that both races were about a week further out," he said. "If he comes out of it good and feels fresh enough, we'll look at those races. Last night we felt like we could probably do it, but you don't know. We'll just have to see. We'll have to watch how he trains and see if he came out of that race good and was not too knocked out by from it. That race would surely have to knock him back a little bit, I would think but he didn't show it last night."

The victory improved Brass Hat's career record to 7-4-0 in 16 races and his earnings rose to $1,271,617. It was the first victory outside of stakes competition for Brass Hat, who made his racing debut in a Turfway Park race for $15,000 claiming horses and notched his first victory in the $100,000 Rushaway Stakes in 2004 at Turfway Park. His other wins include last year's Donn (in which he also set a track record) and New Orleans Handicap (GII); the 2005 Prairie Bayou at Turfway; and a pair of 2004 triumphs as a 3-year-old in the Indiana Derby (GII) and Ohio Derby (GII). He also finished second to Electrocutionist in last year's $6 million Dubai World Cup (GI), but was later disqualified and placed last in that race because of a medication mix-up.

Bradley hopes that the Whitney option works out for Brass Hat. He has never saddled a horse at the famed Spa, but Bradley said that is up to the horse.

"We're just ready for bigger things now," said Bradley. "I hope he comes back good and fresh where we can maybe look at that. That's what we're leaning toward right now, but we're not going to discuss anything until we see how he's doing and how he came out of the race."

ERMINE GETS CHECK-UP, AIMS FOR GO FOR WAND Oxbow Racing, LLC's Ermine has made it through a thorough examination following a disappointing run in Churchill Downs' $300,000-added Fleur De Lis, and trainer Ronny Werner has reported that the news on his star filly is good and he is moving forward with plans for her summer and fall campaign.

The 4-year-old daughter of Exchange Rate the winner of Oaklawn Park's Apple Blossom (GI) and Churchill Downs's $300,000 Falls City Handicap (GII), and runner-up in last year's Kentucky Oaks (GI) finished fourth to Melnyk Racing's Indian Vale in the 1 1/8-mile Fleur De Lis on June 16.

"She checked out good," said Werner. "I have her on the Polytrack up at Arlington now. I sent her up there and we're still probably looking at the Go for Wand (GI) at the end of the month."

Saratoga's 1 1/8-mile Go for Wand is scheduled for July 28. Her effort in the Fleur De Lis marked the first race for Ermine since her Apple Blossom victory in April and Werner thinks the filly could have been a bit dull off of that break.

"Maybe it was the two months," he said. "You learn from when you get beat or you try to learn from when you get beat. You don't learn when you win. You're doing everything you can to try to keep that from happening again. But I guess they're just like people they can have an off day, and maybe that was it."

Werner said another of his stable stars, Douglas and Norrine Devenport's Unbridled Sidney, came out of a disappointing weekend trip to Calder Race Course's "Summit of Speed" in good shape and he continues to plan a return trip to Miami by his 6-year-old mare next month.

The daughter of Unbridled's Song finished fifth to Smitty's Sunshine in the $100,000 Distaff Turf Sprint, which was moved from the grass to the "sloppy" main track after heavy rain hit the track early in the day. But Werner said that, despite the poor effort, Unbridled Sidney needed the race to keep her on schedule for her bid for a second consecutive victory in Calder's $250,000 Distaff Turf Sprint Championship on Aug. 11.

"She likes firm grass, that's what she's got to have," said Werner. "She needed the race. I didn't want to get too close to the main goal, which is the race she won last year."

Werner also elected to run his fast mare over the "sloppy" main track on Saturday because he had flirted with the notion of looking at the new Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, a $1 million dirt race to be run for the first time at Monmouth Park on Oct. 26.

"She answered some questions for us," said Werner. "There are a few things that happened to her that day that we can change, but ultimately she's just not as good on the dirt. So it probably answered some questions there and we won't be looking at the Breeders' Cup."

The setback left Unbridled Sidney's record at 8-3-3 in 21 races with earnings of $632,880. She won her career debut over a "sloppy" dirt surface at Churchill Downs, but all of her subsequent wins have been on turf.

BARN TALK Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense jogged a mile for trainer Carl Nafzger on Monday. James Tafel's homebred son of Street Cry breezed five furlongs on Sunday in 1:00.40.Silverton Hill Farm's Dominican, winner of the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) and 11th in the Kentucky Derby, breezed five furlongs on Monday in 1:03.20 in his final major prep for a scheduled run in this week's $100,000 Round Table at Arlington Park. The Darrin Miller-trained son of El Corredor worked in company with Grease Monkey, who had an identical clocking.

WORK TAB (Track: FAST) Mill House's Brilliant, runner-up in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) and Firecracker Breeders' Cup (GII), breezed four furlongs in :51 for trainer Neil HowardGaff, winner of the Aegon Turf Sprint (GIII) and third to Fabulous Strike in the Aristides Breeders' Cup (GIII) on the main track, breezed four furlongs for trainer Steve Asmussen in :52.40Rich in Spirit, winner of the 2006 Locust Grove Handicap (GIII), breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 for trainer Tom ProctorSimon Pure breezed five furlongs in 1:02.60Off Duty breezed six furlongs in 1:13 for trainer Lynn Whiting in preparation for a run in Ellis Park's Don Bernhardt Memorial.

2007 SPRING MEET LEADERS Through Sunday, July 8 (FINAL)

Jockeys Starts 1-2-3

Julien Leparoux 335 70-49-42 Rafael Bejarano 298 56-62-35 Shaun Bridgmohan 287 52-37-49 Robby Albarado 272 50-47-47 Calvin Borel 307 48-30-37 Jamie Theriot 270 37-39-33 Corey Lanerie 212 28-31-27 Miguel Mena 311 26-38-34 Jesus Castanon 229 26-20-25 Mark Guidry 147 24-26-16 Alonso Quinonez* 205 24-18-28

* apprentice jockey

TRAINERS

Steve Asmussen 156 46-28-25 Dale Romans 137 22-23-22 Tom Amoss 67 20-14-8 Michael Maker 48 18-7-6 Ken McPeek 96 16-14-17 Greg Foley 87 14-10-16 Patrick Biancone 56 13-9-11 Steve Margolis 62 12-9-8 Todd Pletcher 76 11-14-12 D. Wayne Lukas 69 10-7-8

OWNERS

Maggi Moss 46 18-7-3 Vinery Stables 29 10-6-3 Heiligbrodt Racing Stable 26 10-5-3 Ken and Sarah Ramsey 33 9-6-3 Richard, Elaine & Bert Klein 32 6-6-3

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