I think Curlin ran well but his solid second wasn’t the unwavering “full speed ahead” signal we all had hoped for.

If anyone can learn quickly, it’s Curlin. I’m always blown away when I think about how much he learned between the Derby and the Preakness. The Derby was the first time he wasn’t on the pace and the first time he couldn’t easily put away a field. But he came right back in the Preakness and owned sitting off the pace and suddenly showed off his new found skill of looking an opponent in the eye and going after him.

I’m hoping he’ll be the same overachieving student after the Man o’War:

So, what would you do? Run him again on the turf in the states? Should they change the target to the BC Turf? Should he just stick to dirt OR stick to the plan for the Arc? I’m not sure how I feel about it, I’m leaning towards another turf try here in the states and then ship him for a prep race if works out well.

In the last poll, 16 of you (me included) thought Zenyatta should train for the Classic, 15 of you thought she could be interesting and 12 of you gave the whole idea a big thumbs down. Her performance in the Vanity no doubt helped in the No department but I still think at the very least she’s an interesting prospect for the Classic, particularly given the absence of Heatseeker and Curlin.

Thanks to all who participated in the last poll and I’ll so some much needed catch up posting tomorrow!