He ran a lot at 2, so we just gave him some time off. We wanted to avoid some of the tougher spots and to see if he likes the grass.

He's improved since January 1st; every day I think he's gotten better. We'll probably work one long work - maybe next Thursday - and then come back the next Saturday and give him a work for the race, and that'll be it.

He's just a fast, fast horse. I know he's a New York-bred, but he's a well-bred New York-bred. He does everything right. He's got a real high cruising speed.

I honestly don't know if he's the same caliber as some of the best 3-year-olds down here. But if he's not, hopefully we can make some money with him in some of the Grade 2's or 3's later on.

I really don't know how you do it.

It's hard to get a read on that race. I think if I was one of the guys in the back of the pack -- even if I got beat 40 lengths -- if I liked my horse and he was doing good, I wouldn't let it discourage me.

That part of it may be tough for us, but his pedigree says he should handle the distance, and he trains like it, too. He'll gallop 2 1/2 miles and never get tired. What I'm really hoping is the distance will make him that much better.

We thought he was the horse with the best stallion potential in the sale. He was pretty cheap for a Storm Cat out of that kind of mare.

We shortened her up at Churchill with this race in mind. We'll start thinking long distances again, but for now, we're just going to regroup before we get back to Kentucky.

We worked him on the turf for the first time at Saratoga and it was like turning on a switch. He was a totally different horse on the grass.