Mid-morning Monday, a tall man in a dark coat and baseball cap leaned against the wall next to one of the offices in Barn 41 on the Churchill Downs backstretch. He chatted occasionally with two companions, who turned out to be a groom and an exercise rider. The man wore glasses and a couple days grizzle on his face, and he looked a lot like the trainer John Shirreffs. Thing is, this was Breeders’ Cup week, and if that was John Shirreffs, where were the 48 photographers, 87 reporters, and the throngs of other hangers-on who should be surrounding him?

The most important decision that owners and trainers can make when managing a racehorse is the choice of when to be conservative and when to be bold. The people in charge of the three most prominent horses in the Breeders’ Cup – Uncle Mo, Goldikova, and Havre de Grace – have all opted for boldness, ensuring some great drama, and probably some intense second-guessing, at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tuesday’s Breeders’ Cup workout report from Churchill Downs would be better called the “gallop” report since nary a single Cup contender turned in an officially timed trial either over the main track or turf course throughout the four-hour training session which began under clear but once again near-frigid conditions.