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 Monday is generally workout day for the top horses in trainer Steve Asmussen’s barn, and there was no deviation five days out from the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) as Asmussen sent out Curlin, Student Council, and Pyro one-by-one for their final serious preparations for North America’s richest race.

Curlin breezed four furlongs in :49.60 in his third workout on Santa Anita Park’s synthetic Pro-Ride surface. The Smart Strike colt was back to his normal routine after breezing in between races at Santa Anita on October 13.

Asmussen is methodically trying to cover all the bases in preparing Curlin for an attempt at a repeat win in the Classic with the added twist of a surface change.

“I’m just gathering all the information I can,” Asmussen said several times on Monday morning.

Asmussen’s devotion to detail is nothing new, but the stakes are especially high as Curlin gets a chance to add to his sparkling resume by joining Tiznow as the only two-time Classic winner.

“That’s the task at hand and that’s what we’re here for,” Asmussen said. “The huge variable is to do it on a different surface.”

Asmussen, assistant trainer Scott Blasi, and exercise rider Carlos Rosas have all been encouraged with what they have seen so far, particularly in Curlin’s level of comfort since he arrived at Santa Anita on September 28.

Curlin was the first three-year-old since Tiznow to win the Classic, and Asmussen feels he has matured physically and in his approach to racing during the last year.

“[He has] a lot better understanding of what the game is,” Asmussen said. “Last year, he was very raw but tremendously talented. It looked like [jockey Robby Albarado] was doing a lot of guiding, a lot of navigation for him. This year, he seems to understand the races a lot better. … He’s just matured from somewhat of a gangly teenager to a full-blown professional.”

The Classic will be Student Council’s first start in 62 days since a fifth-place finish in the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) on August 24 and his last race before he retires to owner Ro Parra’s Millennium Farms in Lexington for the 2009 breeding season.

The six-year-old Kingmambo horse won last year’s Pacific Classic on the synthetic Polytrack surface at Del Mar, and he scored his lone victory this year in the Pimlico Special Handicap (G1) on the dirt at Pimlico Race Course.

Asmussen said Student Council was “more than a handful” in breezing four furlongs in :48 on Monday.

“He seems extremely sharp coming off a 60-day layoff,” Asmussen said. “He’s sharpened up tremendously and has been very strong. I feel like he’s sitting on a huge race. He looks great and has been going over the ground very well. He does have a Grade 1 win on a synthetic track to fall back on, so you’re sure he’s going to perform at his best.”

Pyro also was pre-entered in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, but Asmussen confirmed that the three-year-old colt will start in the Classic. Jockey Julien Leparoux will replace Shaun Bridgmohan, who will stick with Student Council.

Pyro finished second from post 12 as the favorite in the Indiana Derby (G2) on October 4 at Hoosier Park. The Pulpit colt finished tenth as the even-money favorite in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) in his only previous start on a synthetic surface. He breezed four furlongs in :51.20 on Monday.

“With him doing very well physically, we felt that he deserved a chance at a mile and a quarter again,” Asmussen said. “The synthetic surface is a huge question mark with him because, of his disappointing Blue Grass. But, one thing we found with the synthetics is that Polytrack isn’t Pro-Ride and we’ll go from there.” 

Courtesy: www.thoroughbredtimes.com

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