Although it is clear that race fans should long for the direct, toe-to-toe, battle-it-out spirit that motivated the rivalry between horses such as Alydar and Affirmed, the measured chess game that is unfolding this year — with the next move made on the Jersey Shore this Sunday at the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park — is nothing less than thrilling.

The thrill is slow and heavy, but it is building. Here’s the play: These talented 3-year-olds, certainly the elite among them, will not race after this year. Hard Spun and Street Sense are already slated for stud. There will be no handicap career; we won’t see them run as fully matured 4- and 5-year-olds. This is it.

Last weekend, Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, in his first start since losing the Preakness by a head to Curlin, took the Jim Dandy at Saratoga like a pro, coming off the rail to find the window, and opening up 1 1/2 lengths to take the money.

This Sunday, Preakness-winner Curlin will get back in the gate after losing the Belmont Stakes by a head to Rags to Riches.

“Even though he had three hard races in the Triple Crown, I never took him out of training after the Belmont,” trainer Steve Asmussen told the Daily Racing Form. “It was amazing when we took him back to the track for the first time following that race how he looked exactly like he did the first day I got him in New Orleans earlier this winter. And how smooth and relaxed he went. All he really skipped was a couple of breezes. He had his first work on July 2 and has worked regularly ever since.”

He won his debut at Gulfstream Park by nearly 13 lengths on February 3, and then marched to the front of the Grade 3 Rebel Stakes and Grade 2 Arkansas Derby as though he were on his way to a picnic in the winner’s circle. The Derby was deeper water, and he seemed to balk, but recovered to finish third.

In the middle of the Preakness, he grew up. He was passed by Street Sense — not just passed but shut down — but he shook it off and ran down the stretch to take the race. The Street Sense team was scared off of the Belmont, where Curlin and Rags to Riches battled it out on the stretch. Curlin ended a head behind the filly.

He’s a shoo-in to be the favorite in the Haskell, but he won’t go to the gate alone, and all the horses have to run from the gate to the wire before the checks are cashed. Also strutting the post-parade will be Hard Spun, trained by Larry Jones. The horse stuck for the place after setting the pace in the Derby. They tried a new tack with him at the Preakness, and it didn’t work out, but he made a real move and stuck it out for the show money chasing the dueling Street Sense and Curlin on the stretch. He was back in the gate at the Belmont Stakes, and finished fourth. The Haskell distance of 1 1/8th will help him out on Sunday, and he has yet to be given a really solid ride.

The thing about the summer races, though, is that the horses start to even out. As younger 3-year-olds, they are still disparate in their maturity and professionalism. Dark horse runners who haven’t made a splash on the national scene might show up here. Like Cable Boy, the hometown hero.

Cable Boy will certainly be on the front, setting the pace. He’s undefeated, having taken each of his only three starts at Monmouth.

Any Given Saturday brought a new race to the Dwyer Stakes and will attempt to repeat his victory on Sunday.

Less interesting is the return of Imawildandcrazyguy to the top of the stakes division. He wasn’t embarrassed through the Triple Crown, but it was clear he was in over his head. His connections dropped him down to an allowance race on July 14, and he took it by 3 3/4 lengths. It seems odd to throw him right back to the wolves.

The same goes for Xchanger. He does very well in stakes races, but when they send him up to the top of the top, he flops. Eternal optimism is, of course, the key ingredient in the psychological makeup of thoroughbred owners.

Stormello, on the other hand, will make a contribution to this race. I can’t see him on the board, but he’s going to push the pace even further.

It’s a strong mix, and there are real questions on the table. It’s unclear whether all of these horses, or even the best of them, are headed toward the Travers at Saratoga, but it is clear that most of them have their eyes on the Breeders’ Cup prize. And it’s dead certain that Curlin is battling for more than that, for the 3-year-old championship and Horse of the Year.

mwatman@nysun.com