LOUISVILLE,Ky. - Colonel John dispelled any notions that he was strictly an artificial surface specialist by working five furlongs in 57.61 seconds at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning.

Colonel John was one of five prospective Kentucky Derby starters to work over a fast racetrack on Sunday. He was joined on a busy tab by the Bill Mott-trained duo of Court Vision and Z Humor, Adriano and the filly Eight Belles.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As predicted all week, the sun and unseasonably warm weather that bathed Churchill Downs for the past several days was gone, replaced by cooler temperatures and light showers that certainly affected training here Saturday morning. The racetrack was officially termed sloppy when Pyro came out in the first set at 6 a.m. but had been upgraded to muddy by the time the day's only local Kentucky Derby worker, Gayego, made his way onto the track following the renovation break nearly three hours later.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A week before the 134th Kentucky Derby, three contenders took a step forward toward the race, while one took a significant step backward.

Here at Churchill Downs, Gayego, the Arkansas Derby winner, completed his serious training for the Derby with a five-furlong drill. Over at Keeneland, Monba and Cowboy Cal, the one-two finishers in the Blue Grass Stakes, also worked five furlongs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Gayego was the only Kentucky Derby candidate to work at Churchill Downs on Saturday, going five furlongs over a muddy track in 1:00.76 with regular rider Mike Smith aboard. Earlier in the morning, Monba worked five furlongs in 1:02.60 and his stablemate Cowboy Cal the same distance in 1:00 over the Polytrack at Keeneland. Monba and Cowboy Cal finished first and second, respectively, at Keeneland in the Blue Grass Stakes.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A forecast of rain in the Louisville area over the weekend helped liven up Friday's activities at Churchill Downs as trainer Louis Roussel III opted to move Recapturetheglory's work forward 24 hours to avoid potential complications from the weather.

The Illinois Derby winner Recapturetheglory and Anak Nakal were the only two Kentucky Derby candidates to work over a racetrack that was arguably a trifle cuppier and slower than the previous two mornings.

Richard Dutrow Jr. enters his first Kentucky Derby as confident in his chances to win it as if it were the third race at Aqueduct on any January day. In Big Brown, Dutrow believes he has the best horse in what he feels is an inferior field for next Saturday's 134th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Desperate times often make desperate men, but as desperate as owner William Warren is to get Denis of Cork into the Kentucky Derby next Saturday, he said Friday he did not accept a proposal days ago that would have significantly helped his chances.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - If Churchill Down next Saturday is bathed in the sunshine and warmth that has enveloped this area over the past few days, the sun surely will be shining bright on the old Kentucky home for the 134th Kentucky Derby. But the forecast for this weekend, and into the first part of Derby week, is not as hospitable, so several trainers have been attuned as much to The Weather Channel as reruns of "Seinfeld" on their hotel televisions, trying to glean the optimum time for a final workout for their Derby horses.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Recapturetheglory and Anak Nakal were the only two Kentucky Derby candidates to work Friday on another unseasonably warm morning at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Louis Roussel III moved Recapturetheglory's work forward 24 hours in deference to weather reports calling for rain in the area on Saturday. With jockey E.T. Baird aboard, Recapturetheglory worked five furlongs in 1:00.98 shortly after the renovation break.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Under normal circumstances, Thursday would have been a pivotal and extremely exciting morning at Churchill Downs, with the likely favorite for this year's Kentucky Derby scheduled for his final serious workout prior to the big event. Unfortunately, that particular drill came about 900 miles away at Palm Meadows training center in Boynton Beach, Fla., where Big Brown zipped five furlongs in 58.60 seconds under exercise rider Michelle Nevin.