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Lucky lookin good ahead of his Juvenile date

Anyone who has attended the Breeders' Cup will be well aware there is a lengthy phoney war to be fought before the real battle commences on Friday and Saturday.

The drill is simple. The European raiders arrive at the venue over the weekend leading up to the meeting, followed on the Monday and Tuesday by assorted characters from the American and British media.

Then the Yanks and the Brits spend three days watching a bewildering array of horses go through their paces in dawn workouts in the hope of assessing sorting the potential champions from mere contenders.

Personally, I'm no great fan of trying to work out whether a horse who breezes gently against one inferior galloping companion is likely to shine or shrivel in the intense heat of BC competition.

However, one horse who has really caught the eye on the Santa Anita track this week is the leading Juvenile contender Lookin At Lucky.

Bob Baffert's colt is built like a very good horse and moved accordingly when recording one of the most impressive workouts of the day on Monday morning.

If you aren't familiar with him, take a look at the video of his emphatic success in the Norfolk Stakes on www.breederscup.com and witness the way he won with real authority despite idling in front.

Richard Dutrow's D'Funnybone boasts a higher Timeform rating but has achieved that level on dirt rather than a synthetic surface.

By contrast, Lookin At Lucky is plainly very much at home on Californian synthetic surfaces. Any price over [3.5] strikes me as a very fair indeed.

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Zen could be sensational if he relaxes in the Sprint

Baffert has been cleaning up during the prestigious Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita recently and his flagship horse this weekend could be Zensational in the Sprint.

But opinions are divided as to whether this brilliantly fast grey will be able to sustain his searing pace when the most powerful sprinters in America (and one from Europe in Fleeting Spirit) come to call in Saturday's showpiece.

Baffert has already captured the Sprint three times - including the last two renewals with Midnight Lute - and has no doubt that Zensational is good enough to make every yard this weekend.

"I read somewhere that a cheetah can go from zero to 40 in two jumps," he said, "But Zensational can also do that and although he can fight his rider all the way down the back side he just re-breaks in the straight."

But that tendency to fight his rider was evident again in a Monday workout and the one concern about Zensational relates to whether his explosive power can be channelled in the right direction by rider Victor Espinoza when the gates crash open.

On balance, I'm inclined to reserve judgement until I've seen him out on the track again this week.

Gayego has hit form at the right time for the bang-in-form Godolphin team, while Fleeting Spirit shouldn't be underestimated at a big price, but Baffert feels he has never had a sprinter with the natural talent of Zensational.

And the safest bet of all is that he is likely to be trading short in-running as they thunder round the home turn on Saturday night.

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King of the road is also king of comedy

You can't get away from the fact that homelessness is a problem in Los Angeles and those who live on the streets need an angle to catch the attention of the public.

Two beggars I passed in Manhattan a couple of years ago adopted the direct route with a sign which simply read: "Where's the point in lying, we need beer!"

But another who collared me while ambling along the main street in Pasadena the other day beat the Big Apple bums cosily with his innovative line of patter.

After establishing that I was from England he unleashed his killer question.

"Do you know which is the greatest nation," he asked.

"No sir," I replied.

"Why, it's a DO-nation."

I thank you.

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Stats suggest returning heroes (and heroine) may not have things all their own way

If I have learned one thing from working with the TVG broadcasting team at Santa this week is that statistics play a huge role in race analysis.

Split times, pace biases and records on different surfaces dominate thinking of those who are professionally involved and, bit by bit, you can't help starting to think along similar lines.

So how about this stat I dug up while trawling aimlessly through a Breeders' Cup Statistical guide which makes your average phone directory look like a parish pamphlet?

In the 25 years of BC history a grand total of 62 winners have returned to try again. Only eight have managed to triumph again, which is a sobering thought for those who feel that the likes of Conduit, Goldikova and Zenyatta represent banker material as they bid to follow up their thrilling successes from 12 months ago.

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No shortage of things to spend your winnings on as bag lady does her stuff

The essential fashion accessory fans among you - and I know there are plenty - will be elated to hear that the Breeders' Cup now has an Official Luxury Handbag Partner.

Iconic American luxury brand Judith Leiber - whose bags have been carried by every First Lady at presidential Inaugurations since 1953 according to a hilarious press release - has beaten off what was surely the stiffest of competition to land the title.

And for those who "take down a major score" this weekend, how about investing in a Breeders' Cup Signature minaudiere (it's a small, decorative case according to my online thesaurus) for your other half?

Judith, or Judy as I prefer to call her, has created "a unique item which is encrusted with clear Austrian crystal and outlines the trademark Breeders' Cup horse in gold."

And the price of this little cracker? Just the $2,295. On second thoughts, better make that major score a Pick Six.