Central -- Michael Tabor's Lion Tamer takes his most important step on the road to Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby when he faces eight rivals in Saturday's 32nd running of the $500,000 Lane's End Stakes (Grade II) at Northern Kentucky's Turfway Park.

The Todd Pletcher-trained son of Will's Way won the seven-furlong Hutcheson (GII) in his most recent start and will make his debut at a two-turn distance and his first beyond seven furlongs as he breaks from the outside post in the 1 1/8-mile race.

"He has run well, trained well and finishes his races well," said Pletcher, who won same race in 2001 with Balto Star. "You never know until you try around two turns, but he gives every indication that he will handle it."

If the 6-5 morning line favorite runs well in the Lane's End, Pletcher plans to buck history and train Lion Tamer up to the Kentucky Derby without another prep race. The last horse to win the Derby without the benefit of a prep race in April was Needles in 1956.

"I really don't think you have to run within two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, whatever,'' said Pletcher. "I keep telling everybody there's no secret formula to winning the Kentucky Derby. It's a very, very difficult race to win no matter what you do. You've got to take your horse into consideration and what fits him. I believe what fits Lion Tamer best is plenty of time between races."

John Velazquez will ride Lion Tamer, who has a record of 3-1-0 in four starts.

The first order of business for Lion Tamer will be his bid to handle a Lane's End field that also includes Lloyd Madison Farm LLC's Champali, the winner of the Iroquois (GIII) at Churchill Downs and the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway. The Churchill Downs-based son of Glitterman is trained by Greg Foley, who has guided the colt to six wins in seven career starts and has swept Turfway's trio of stakes preps for the Lane's End.

"We have a sound, happy horse heading into the race," said Foley. "It looks like Lion Tamer is the horse to beat, but he's only gone seven-eighths. We've gone two turns and he's coming to our track."

The Lane's End field also includes Lecomte (GIII) winner Saintly Look, recent Gulfstream Park winner Eugene's Third Son, and Battaglia runner-up Chicken Soup Kid.

n Robert and Beverly Lewis' Private Gold heads a field of 11 in the $100,000 Rushaway on the Lane's End undercard. The Patrick Byrne-trained colt will be ridden by Pat Day, who also rides Eugene's Third Son for Byrne in the Lane's End. Other Rushaway contenders include Acceptable Venture, Tito's Beau, Desert Warrior, and Honeagle.

Silverton Hills Farm's Great Notion, who stamped himself as a horse with a future in a nine-length romp in Southwest Stakes, bids to solidify his standing as a contender for the Kentucky Derby when he heads a field of seven entered in Saturday's 1 1/16-mile Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Trainer Darrin Miller had considered skipping the final major prep for the $500,000 Arkansas Derby (GII), but changed his mind after he watched the speedy son of the sizzling young sire Elusive Quality train over the Hot Springs, Ark. track earlier in the week.

"He was very strong and very focused," said Miller. "So I decided to put him in and play it by ear."

Great Notion's main competition in the Rebel could come from the 2-3-4 finishers in the Southwest: Alke, Comic Truth and Sir Cherokee.

The Ronny Werner-trained son of Silver Deputy breezed five furlongs in 1:02 at the Fair Grounds. The colt underwent a myectomy to correct a breathing problem after his sixth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby.

West -- Trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Victor Espinoza teamed up to win last year's Kentucky Derby with The Thoroughbred Corp's War Emblem, but that team was split up this week when Baffert removed Espinoza as the rider of the stable's 2003 Derby contender Kafwain in the April 5 Santa Anita Derby (GI).

Baffert offered the mount to Pat Valenzuela and, although Valenzuela has yet to confirm the change, Espinoza has already landed a Santa Anita Derby mount aboard El Camino Real Derby (GIII) runner-up Ministers Wild Cat. The mount on the Neil Drysdale-trained colt came open when jockey Kent Desormeaux decided to ride unbeaten El Camino Real Derby winner Ocean Terrace in the same race for trainer Bob Hess, Jr.

Trainer Jeff Mullins said that Buddy Gil, the upset winner of the San Felipe (GII) came out of the race in "great shape." Buddy Gil overcame traffic problems in the stretch to win by a nose over the highly-regarded Atswhatimtalknbout and Mullins said he is looking forward to a rematch in the Santa Anita Derby.

"My horse never got a chance to run," said Mullins. "Two different horses slammed him and he never got untracked. I'm not going to dispute the other horse because he's a nice horse. But I think if my horse got clear at the head of the lane, I could outrun him easy."

King Robyn, the Mullins-trained runner-up to Buddy Gil in the Baldwin (GIII) on the Santa Anita turf, looms as a major contender in Sunday's $75,000 San Pedro at 6 1/2 furlongs on the grass. Possible contenders include Our Bobby V. and the Baffert-trained duo of San Rafael (GII) winner Rojo Toro and Truckle Feature.

Southeast -- Padua Stable's unbeaten 2002 juvenile champion and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) winner Vindication, who left the Kentucky Derby trail with an injury to a suspensory ligament, is getting close to a return to training.

The son of Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew was sent to a training center near Summerfield, Fla., owned by Padua's Satish and Anne Sanan, early Friday morning following treatment of his ailment by Dr. Doug Herthel.

"Vindication has exceeded Dr. Herthel's every expectation," said Nadia Sanan. "My family and I have every indication that Vindication will take up where he left off."

Europe -- Co-owner Michael Tabor told Britain's Racing Post that Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) runner-up Hold That Tiger remains more likely for the Epsom Derby than the Kentucky Derby. He said the Aidan O'Brien-trained colt is on target for a run in the Two Thousand Guineas, Britain's first classic that will be run on Saturday, May 3 -- which is also Kentucky Derby Day.

"Things can always change, but I don't think this will," Tabor said. "Everything is fine with him. He has got good form from last year and he seems okay now."

Meanwhile, stablemate Tomahawk will become the first of O'Brien's Kentucky Derby and Visa Triple Crown nominees to compete this year when he runs in a seven furlong stakes race at the Curragh on the opening day of Ireland's flat racing season. The son of Seattle Slew ran eighth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

O'Brien is schedule to ship Delacroix, a brother to 1995 Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch, to Dubai to run in next week's $2 million UAE Derby. The Irish-based O'Brien has never saddled a horse in Dubai.

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