by Phil Janack

Overnight and early morning rain forced trainer Steve Asmussen to call an audible for 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin on Monday.

Asmussen originally planned to give the four-year-old Smart Strike colt his first breeze on the main track at Saratoga Race Course but changed plans when it came up muddy, pushing it back to shortly before 8 a.m. EDT.

Instead, Curlin worked six furlongs in 1:14.63 over the Oklahoma training track, galloping out seven furlongs in 1:38.68 under regular exercise rider Carlos Rosas.

"He went great," Asmussen said. "It's remarkable how he seems to go over the ground, regardless of the condition. He's got a beautiful action. They went a little quicker than I was expecting them to, but they seemed to do it very easily. I got him in 14 and change, and we were expecting 15 or a little slower.

"I was hoping to get a work on the main track, and this morning would have been good to get that done and over with, but Mother Nature said, 'Not today.' "

Curlin is tuning up for his next scheduled start in the $500,000 Woodward Stakes (G1) on August 30 at Saratoga. The Woodward will mark his return to a dirt track after finishing second in his turf debut in the Man o' War Stakes (G1) on July 12 at Belmont Park.

Curlin has earned $9,496,800, leaving him $503,015 shy of Cigar's record of $9,999,815 for al-time leading North American-raced earners. Skip Away is second at $9,616,360. A victory in the Woodward would put Curlin second at $9,796,800.

Although he trained last summer and fall as well as this summer in Saratoga, Curlin has never been on the main track. The 36-day meeting has been plagued by rain, wind, and hail, and the final eight races were canceled on August 8 after portions of the track were washed out.

"I'm pleased with how everything went," Asmussen said. "Now we really have to watch the weather, but if the main track's muddy next week, we're going to work over here. The Oklahoma just handles the water, I feel, so much better. The main track this morning seemed to be right down to the base."

Curlin worked in company with Hawaii Calls, a four-year-old Fusaichi Pegasus colt also owned by Stonestreet Stables. Hawaii Calls was timed in 1:14.97 for six furlongs.

"Hawaii Calls is a fabulous work horse, and he's got a big stride, very steady," Asmussen said. "He's fairly manageable. He's a horse that breaks off at a steady clip.

"Last year, Zanjero and Curlin ran on a similar time schedule, even if they weren't running in the same races. They were both manageable horses, and they were a good complement to each other. I haven't had that horse for [Curlin] this year."

The work was the fourth for Curlin at Saratoga this year. He went a half-mile in :51.47 in the mud on July 21, five furlongs in 1:03.09 on July 28, and 1:02.72 on August 2, all on the Oklahoma training track. Monday’s move was his first in company.

"I think he's a lot more relaxed earlier in the work in company," Asmussen said. "Ability-wise, he's capable of doing so much. We used Hawaii Calls as a rabbit for him. He's got one steady speed which is solid, and he was able to relax off of him and let the other horse pace him."

Asmussen is hopeful that Curlin’s next planned workout on August 18 can be done on the main track.

"It matters; it just depends on what the weather's doing," he said. "You don't want anything to be significant about it, but if there is something about it you'd like to know it in the morning instead of in the afternoon. It might be a pole that he doesn't like how it's colored, who knows. You're not wanting it to be anything, but you want to make sure that it's nothing."

Asmussen also sent out Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) runner-up Pyro and Grade I winner Student Council on Monday.

Pointing for the $1-million Travers Stakes (G1) on August 23, Pyro was clocked in 1:16.01 for six furlongs. Student Council is expected to defend his 2007 victory in the $1-million Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) on August 24 at Del Mar. He went six-eighths in 1:14.46.

Phil Janack is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent