nov 2 - cameras greet bernardini

Bernardini: - As dozens of cameras recorded his every step, the even-money favorite for the Breeders' Cup Classic - Powered by Dodge emerged from Barn 17 at 7:10 for his first visit over the Churchill Downs surface.

By the time he returned 30 minutes later, Bernardini had completed what trainer Tom Albertrani described as "a slow gallop" of 1 ¼ m and schooled at the gate.

Bernardini entered the track at the gap midway up the backstretch, and was taken around the clubhouse in the wrong direction. He changed direction in the stretch and was galloped around the course. At the top of the stretch, he was taken to the gate, which was located at the start position for the 1 ¼ m Classic.

Two hours later, Albertrani said the Darley Stable colt had made a smooth adjustment to his new surroundings. Bernardini was shipped from Belmont Park on Wednesday.

"He's doing super," Albertrani said. "I couldn't be happier with him at the moment.

"He looks fantastic. He looks great," Albertrani said. "He's got a good, healthy coat on him and has been training well. We're pleased with the way he's coming into this race."

Bernardini drew post No. 3 in the field of 13 and will be ridden by Javier Castellano. Albertrani does not foresee any problems.

"I would have preferred being a little farther on the outside, but he's got enough speed to get away from there," Albertrani said. "I could see where he's maybe two or three lengths off the leaders and Javier will just put him in a position where he is happy and comfortable."

Brother Derek: - Brother Derek galloped 2 m at Churchill Downs Thursday, and trainer Dan Hendricks was pleased with the way his horse looked.

"He went very well. Everything went well," Hendricks said. "He was getting over it well even as wet as it is out there. Coming off, he was frisky even though he went two miles. He's happy and relaxed."

The last time Hendricks brought Brother Derek to Churchill, the colt was one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby. This trip, Brother Derek is 30-1 behind Bernardini at even money. Hendricks said he's "flying under the radar," but he wasn't complaining.

"It's nice," he said. "I'd rather have the favorite, but I think we have a legitimate shot. Still, it's nice to come in and not be scrutinized. It's easier to get around and do everything."

Hendricks said Brother Derek's starting post on the rail is "fine ...We'll be able to get out running and get a forward position," though he added he wished Bernardini, who drew the No. 3 post, was further outside. "But with 13 horses, post is not as relevant."

David Junior: - The 4yo son of Pleasant Tap, who tries the dirt for the first time in the Classic Saturday, schooled in the paddock and galloped on the main track Thursday morning with trainer Brian Meehan watching closely.

"I was very happy with what I saw today," Meehan said. "He's pretty fit and doesn't need much work. He had a steady open canter of about five furlongs this morning, and he'll do the same tomorrow.

"We let him stand in the paddock and have a look around to get him used to his surroundings."

Meehan, who will be saddling his first Breeders' Cup starters Saturday - David Junior in the Classic and Red Rocks in the Turf - said he has no qualms about his colt handling the Churchill dirt course.

"We have a Polytrack at the farm (in Manton, England)," he said. "And we have several bends on it, so he's trained for American racing even though he hasn't run on anything but turf. I have no concerns that he won't handle the surface.

"And I was very pleased with the draw (Post 7) in the middle of the field."

The Classic will be David Junior's 13th lifetime start and the final race of his career. He'll be retired after Saturday's race and will be shipped to Japan to start his stud career. He has won the Dubai Duty Free and the Eclipse Stakes this season.

Jamie Spencer, who has been aboard in all his starts this year, has the mount again Saturday.

Flower Alley: - He was the Classic runner-up at Belmont Park last year, beaten a length by eventual Horse of the Year Saint Liam, but a pair of bad showings at Saratoga have made him a forgotten horse to many.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, however, is not among them. "It's a little frustrating to have to defend a horse who was second in the Classic," Pletcher said. "I don't know what happened at Saratoga, but I know the track was different - deeper and more demanding.

"We're hoping he can go back and re-discover his old form, because if he can run back to any of those races, he belongs right with these horses. Hey, he can run lights out on Saturday and be fifth. It's that tough a race."

George Washington: - Trainer Aidan O'Brien left his four Breeders' Cup runners tucked up in the Quarantine Barn Thursday morning. He said George Washington would do a "happy canter" at 9 a.m. Friday with Ivan Denisovich, who failed to draw into the Mile field.

"It's exciting," O'Brien said as he anticipated George Washington's run in the Classic. "It's a step into the unknown. It would have been easy to keep him in the Mile where he'd be a short-priced favorite. Anything is possible with this horse. We know we've never had a horse with ability like his.

"So far he moves the same way whatever the surface although he's never run on the dirt. I can't tell you the gears and ability this horse has. A horse with blistering speed like he has, you always wonder how far they can stretch it. We'd be very surprised if he doesn't travel (move well) on the dirt because we've never seen him not travel.

"Then when he turns in (for home) is it going to be the dirt that catches him or the stamina, because he has blistering speed? The question is: 'How far can you stretch an elastic band.' We've never been beyond a mile with him.

"His mental side has really come together. He was very good in his last two races at Goodwood and Ascot. He's fine if he isn't crowded and can do his own thing."

Giacomo: - The 2005 Kentucky Derby winner got his exercise after 9 a.m. Thursday with veteran exercise rider Steve Willard on board. The pair did a 1 ½ m tour of the main track and the gray seemed happy with himself as he returned to Barn 41.

Trainer John Shirreffs was on the scene and overseeing one of the final bits of business in the career of his winner of more than $2.2 million. The 4yo Holy Bull colt will be retired following his 10-furlong run on Saturday.

"I flew in on a private jet," Shirreffs said. "Came with the Mosses (Giacomo's owners Jerry and Ann Moss). If you've got to go, that's the way to go. Nice."

Shirreffs will give Mike Smith a leg up on Giacomo in the Classic. The Hall of Fame rider has been aboard Giacomo for all his previous 15 starts and he'll partner with him one last time in the centerpiece of the Saturday card.

Invasor: - Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin sent Invasor, as well as Sprint morning-line favorite Henny Hughes, to the track for a 1 3/8m gallops under Barry Downs Thursday morning at Churchill Downs.

"They're feeling too good to just jog them," said McLaughlin, whose two Breeders' Cup contenders arrived by flight from New York on Wednesday afternoon.

Invasor, the Uruguayan Triple Crown winner, is undefeated in three starts this year since arriving in the U.S.

"The horse has never been better, has never looked better and has never trained better," McLaughlin said, "but the competition has never been better than it is in this race."

McLaughlin hasn't always held the Breeders' Cup Classic contender in such high regard.

"I was not impressed, to be honest with you. He seemed like an ordinary horse, but he's done this since we've had him," said McLaughlin, fashioning his right arm into an upward scale.

Invasor, who was knocked out of a scheduled start in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Oct. 7 by a fever, will be making his first start since winning the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 5.

"He's doing fabulous. It's probably worked out in our favor, because we ran him back pretty quick after Dubai," said McLaughlin, whose 4yo Argentina-bred colt followed up a fourth-place finish in the UAE Derby on March 25 with a victory in the Pimlico Special on May 19. "Horses don't usually come back that quick after running in Dubai. It's given him a chance to recover. He's filled out in all the right places."

Lava Man: - With trainer Doug O'Neill looking on for the first time since coming to Churchill Downs from a long stay at Keeneland Race Course, Lava Man galloped 1 1/2m over a "good" Louisville track Thursday morning, putting him a step closer to Saturday's showdown with Bernardini in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

O'Neill was quick to say, "I like what I've seen so far."

When Lava Man went to the track a little after 9 a.m., O'Neill was joined by a cheering section that included co-owners Steve and Dave Kenly of STD Racing and Jason Wood. As usual, exercise rider Antonio Romero was in the irons.

O'Neill expressed approval of post eight for the 5yo gelded son of Slew City Slew. "I think the post will be fine for him," the trainer said. "He can get the position he wants. If nobody wants the lead, he could be there."

Lawyer Ron: - Lawyer Ron jogged this morning at Churchill Downs, and was scheduled for a paddock schooling session later today.

"Schooling in the paddock is something we do regularly for big races," said trainer Todd Pletcher, who has a record 17 starters in Saturday's Breeders' Cup World Championships.

"We know our horses and their personalities, and if they handle the schooling, it will be an easy day on Friday."

Perfect Drift: - Ready to make a record fifth start in the Classic, the Stonecrest Farm homebred galloped 1 ½ m at his Trackside base on Thursday.

"He's just having an easy morning," reported trainer Murray Johnson. "He's having a very, very good time with this weather."

Premium Tap: - Premium Tap jogged around the track a couple of times under Jorge Munoz on his first morning at Churchill Downs since shipping in from New York on Wednesday afternoon.

The 4yo son of Pleasant Tap will start in the Breeders' Cup Classic only eight weeks after becoming a Grade I stakes winner in the Woodward Handicap at Saratoga in his 14th lifetime start.

"He's a horse that's obviously gotten better with age. He's still got room for improvement. I'm sure we haven't seen the best of him yet," said trainer John Kimmel, who attributes Premium Tap's slow development to being a grandson of Pleasant Colony and a few infirmities.

Premium Tap was away from the races between January and October due to bone bruising in his right hind cannon bones. The Kimmel-trained colt scored in his stakes debut in July of this year, defeating Sun King by nearly six lengths in an overnight stakes at Belmont.

"It was impressive. He really took it to Sun King that day. Edgar Prado didn't have to turn his stick on him," said Kimmel, who attributes his colt's subsequent fifth-place finish behind Invasor in the Whitney Handicap on a lack of fitness due to a lot of missed training.

Fit again, Premium Tap registered a half-length win in the Woodward at Saratoga on Sept. 2, only to finish a troubled fifth as the even-money favorite in the Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park in his most recent start.

"On the second turn, he was almost dropped. He was close to going down. It was a blessing that he wasn't hurt," said Kimmel, whose horse had clipped heels with a rival while in tight quarters.

"But now, we have a dead-fit horse and we've made the pilot change back to Edgar Prado. I think he's going to fire his best shot in the Classic."

Prado hasn't ridden Premium Tap since their victory over Sun King in the Albert The Great overnight stakes at Belmont.

Suave: - Jay Em Ess Stable's Suave galloped 1 ¼ m before the renovation break Thursday morning at Churchill Downs under exercise rider Luis Rodriguez.

Suave, who will be making his final career start in the Classic, drew post position 12 and will be ridden by Kent Desormeaux.

"I love it," trainer Paul McGee said of the 12 hole. "We are outside, no trouble, in the clear ... out there where the air is clean and fresh."

McGee likes what he sees from the son of 1992 Breeders' Cup Classic winner A.P. Indy before he is retired to stand at Darby Dan Farm.

"Everything has been going well and I like the way he is doing," McGee said.

Suave has won three of six starts during his career at Churchill Downs. Only Perfect Drift, with nine Churchill Downs starts, has more experience racing under the Twin Spires.

Sun King: - Sun King galloped 1 ½ m under Carlos Correa Thursday morning in preparation for a start in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Although Sun King finished a distant 15th in the 2005 Kentucky Derby in his only start at Churchill Downs, trainer Nick Zito expects the son of Charismatic to handle the track just fine on Saturday.

"He loves this track," Zito maintained. "We had him here before he won the Commonwealth this spring, and that was one of his best races. He trained for the race over this track."

Sun King will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano in the Classic.