Carl Nafzger

was disappointed his Street Sense didn't win the Preakness yesterday, losing to Curlin by literally a whisker, but he is now looking forward to a rivalry.

Perhaps therein lies Street Sense's lone flaw: the failure to realize that a race isn't over until the winner crosses the finish line. After the colt passed the field and saw nothing but empty space ahead, he apparently let up.

"When my horse gets to the lead, he's just sort of happy. He won't quit running, but he's not intense," Nafzger said. "And Curlin ran an unbelievable perfect race today."

Especially over the final 100 yards.

"It was almost a match race at the end. One champion and another potential champion," one of Curlin's owners, Jess Jackson, said. "Street Sense deserves a lot of credit."

Maybe so, but that won't get him a Triple Crown.

It sounds like Street Sense "loafed" on the lead and never saw Curlin coming.