ATSWHATIMTALKNBOUT - Trainer Ron Ellis sent his horse with the mouthful of a name - Atswhatimtalknbout - out for a morning session on the big Churchill Downs oval Thursday at approximately 7:45 with regular exercise rider Raul Vizcarrando attached. The conditioner took a spot on the outer rail near the five and one-half furlong pole and let things unfold in front of him on a sunny and warm Louisville morning. "Ats" did some familiarization at the starting gate, then galloped a mile and three eighths just two days out from his scheduled start in Kentucky Derby 129. "I had Paul (local trainer and Ellis' brother-in-law Paul McGee) meet him at the gate. It's good to have a friend nearby who knows the drill. Paul has been a great help to me and the horse while we've been here." The A.P. Indy colt is owned by B. Wayne Hughes and a collection of Hollywood celebs who call themselves Biscuit Stables. "Most of the 'Biscuit' people are flying down today and should be here by tonight," Ellis noted. "They'll all be on hand by Saturday including (director Steven) Spielberg." Atswhatimtalknbout flowed through his gallop in easy fashion wearing the short French cup blinkers he'll sport on Saturday.

BRANCUSI - The Blue Grass Stakes runner-up galloped a mile and a half at Keeneland today. "I don't handicap, but I know it's a tough race," trainer Patrick Biancone said. He's pleased he was able to get the No. 2 post. Not only was it the post from which Affirmed broke in his Derby, it is a statistically good breaking spot, he said. Nine horses have won from the 2 hole, tying it with the No. 10 for fourth-most victories since 1900. The last time was Affirmed in 1978. Bold Forbes won from it in '76 and Cannonade in '74.

BUDDY GIL - Santa Anita Derby winner Buddy Gil was on the track shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday to jog a mile, pay a visit to the starting gate and then gallop a mile under exercise rider Amy Mullins. "He was good at the gate, but I think he got wound up a little because the only times he has been to the gate has been to race," trainer Jeff Mullins said. "He will go the gate again in the morning and we will school him in the paddock Friday afternoon." Buddy Gil will break from post position eight under three-time Derby winning rider Gary Stevens. Post position eight has yielded eight Derby winners since 1900, the sixth-most in that time. The most recent Derby winner to break from eight was Go for Gin in 1994.

DOMESTIC DISPUTE - Trainer Patrick ("Paddy") Gallagher sent his Kentucky Derby charge Domestic Dispute through a mile and one-half gallop Thursday morning shortly after Churchill Downs' mid-morning renovation break. The Unbridled's Song colt was handled by regular exercise rider Joe Deegan and the fully Irish Gallagher termed the move "just grand." "I'm going to take him to the paddock again this afternoon," the conditioner said. "He went yesterday and got a little hot. Nothing serious, mind you, but we'll get him more comfortable this afternoon." Gallagher has indicated he is likely to gallop Domestic Dispute Friday morning and then "blow him out down the lane."

EMPIRE MAKER/PEACE RULES - It was either going to be walk or jog Thursday morning for Kentucky Derby favorite Empire Maker and, after some evaluation, trainer Robert Frankel chose to go the jogging route with his colt and did so with exercise-rider Jose Cuevas aboard at approximately 6:30 a.m. The racy son of Unbridled, a solid morning line favorite for Saturday's classic at 6-5, had been a little ginger on his right front foot Tuesday morning and veterinarian Ken Reed had suggested to Frankel that he give the horse a day or two off from his Derby preparations. The trainer went with the vet for Wednesday, but went with his own instincts Thursday and had Cuevas jog Empire Maker a mile around the Churchill oval. "Dr. Reed had a look at the foot this morning and he said it looked fine," Frankel stated. "I checked him myself and made a decision to put him on the track. I thought it would be better for him. He jogged and he went fine. "He's never been a great jogger. He's got those long legs and he doesn't fire them up and down like pistons. He's a better galloper than a jogger. But he jogs just fine for Empire Maker and he jogged as well as he's ever jogged this morning. "He'll gallop a mile and one half tomorrow and gallop the day of the race. He's fine." Frankel also sent his other Derby hopeful, Edmund Gann's Peace Rules, to the track Thursday, galloping the chestnut a mile and one quarter under Cuevas at approximately 8:15 following the renovation break. The husky son of the young stallion Jules pulled hard in his gallop, obviously full of himself as he comes up to Derby 129 Saturday. "He's strong, isn't he?" Frankel asked rhetorically. "I might have to jog him tomorrow, then gallop him the day of the race. You've got to get their energy up and keep it up. I don't do it like other trainers. It's my way." Following training hours at approximately 9:15 Frankel held his daily media session with approximately 100 press representatives outside his barn. He reiterated that he felt that Empire Maker's foot was fine and that he was not worried about his colt's condition. He stated emphatically that "(The foot) will not be an excuse. No excuses." Frankel, who has a reputation as an exceptional handicapper, was asked if he thought all the commotion about the horse's foot would affect the price on his horse in the race. "Yes," he said, "I think it will. Instead of 6-5, he might float up to 8-5 because of all of this. And if he does win, people will think he's a wonder horse. 'He overcame that bad foot,' they'll say." Empire Maker will break from Post 12 in the Derby with Jerry Bailey aboard. Peace Rules goes from Post 5 with Edgar Prado up.

EYE OF THE TIGER - Accompanied by a pony, exercise rider and assistant trainer Art Calva took Kentucky Derby starter Eye Of The Tiger to the Churchill Downs' strip Friday morning at approximately 7:30. The homebred colt proceeded to gallop a mile and one half as trainer Jerry Hollendorfer stood watch trackside. The conditioner, who gets to the point with his statements and his horses, said both his colt and conditioning were going "fine." Hollendorfer also noted that he would school his charge in the paddock Thursday afternoon.

FUNNY CIDE - The Wood Memorial runner-up got his first look at the Churchill Downs track, gate and paddock and was "just fine," according to exercise rider/assistant trainer Robin Smullen. "He was a little, tiny bit anxious, but it was his first time out there. He was looking around in the paddock, then he took a deep breath and he was fine," she said. "We thought the Wood would be draining, but it hasn't been. He's ate up. He got here last night and ate up and he ate up this morning. "He's always been a confident horse, but he's more mature since the Wood. He's always been difficult to ride, but he's been better since the Wood. "I wouldn't want to rule him out. I think he has a pretty good chance." Trainer Barclay Tagg echoed his assistant's remarks. "He bounced out of the Wood very well. All signs are perfect," he said. "He's just about as nice a demeanored horse as there is. He's intelligent. He doesn't wash out. "The only idiosyncrasy he has is that he's very strong. It would be pretty hard to gallop him every day. He's so strong, he'd be pretty hard on himself." Tagg said it's easier for him and better for a horse to ship in late. "They're in their own stall, they're eating their own feed," he said. "We try to keep everything real habitual. I think that works real well with horses."

INDIAN EXPRESS - The horse many figure will set the pace in Saturday's 129th Kentucky Derby, Phil Chess' Indian Express, galloped a mile and one half Thursday morning at approximately 8:15 shortly after the track reopened following the mid-morning training break. The dark son of 1998 Kentucky Derby favorite Indian Charlie navigated the distance with exercise rider Mick Jenner aboard. The local rider took the place of the colt's regular morning pilot, Dana Barnes, who had headed back to California to take care of business at home. Trainer Bob Baffert, who selected Post 9 for his speedy charge at the Derby Draw Wednesday night at the Kentucky Derby Museum, said there would be no paddock schooling session on Thursday for his Santa Anita Derby runner-up.

LONE STAR SKY - Buddy New's Lone Star Sky was on the track at 6:15 to gallop a little more than a mile under exercise rider Kathy Sanchez. Lone Star Sky will break from post position 10, a spot that has produced nine Derby winners since 1900, the most recent being Lil E. Tee in 1992. Shane Sellers will ride. Trainer Tom Amoss has had to pay extra attention to all the Derby horses this week for his duties with TVG's "The Works" show. "I think it is a good idea to keep track of them," Amoss said. "You want to go in a race not only confident in how your horse is doing but if you can't look your owner in the eye and say we've got a chance to win and here is why and give some factual reasons, then I don't think we should enter." And who has impressed Amoss the most this week? "Obviously the horse that hasn't missed a beat and comes in with good credentials is Ten Most Wanted," Amoss said. "I think Indian Express is also doing well, and finally Sir Cherokee. I really think that he has a big, big chance. With a 17-horse field, I believe there will be an honest, fast pace. I don't think you will see a situation like last year when War Emblem went to the lead on his own."

OFFLEE WILD - Trainer T.V. Smith pushed back Offlee Wild's gallop time from 8:15 to 8:30 a.m. to wait for traffic to diminish a bit. "This horse had a day off yesterday, and I think he might be a little fresh. I don't want him to get into a speed duel," Smith said. Exercise rider Rob Smith made sure that didn't happen as he steered Offlee Wild through a 1 ¼-mile gallop that pleased the trainer. Trainer Smith explained he hasn't always been called T.V., which stands for Thomas Victor. "First horse I trained it came out in the program T.V. Smith," he said. "It's been that ever since."

OUTTA HERE - With jockey Kent Desormeaux up, Bill Currin and Al Eisman's Outta Here blew out down the lane in 24 seconds after the renovation break. "I got him in 24.13," Desormeaux said. "He went fine." Outta Here will break from post position 15, a spot that has produced three Derby winners, all since 1984. The most recent winner from the 15 hole was Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000, ridden by Desormeaux. Outta Here will be Desormeaux's 10th Derby mount. His first came in 1988 on Purdue King, who beat one horse in a field of 17 as a member of the mutual field. Ironically, Purdue King was housed in Barn 42, Stall 11, the current home of Outta Here. "Fifteen years? That doesn't seem like it could be possible," said Desormeaux, who also won the 1998 Derby on Real Quiet. "I can tell you every rust pit of the gate. I can see it right now," Desormeaux said, recalling his initial Derby ride a year after winning the Eclipse Award as the nation's top apprentice. "Every chip in the bar in the starting gate. I can tell you I almost dropped somebody not to be last down the lane. I can tell you it was just a gut-wrenching experience. My stomach was tied in knots. I hardly remember seeing any of the racetrack. I had to stop and take a look around afterward. Now it seems like it is in slow motion."

SCRIMSHAW/TEN CENTS A SHINE - Trainer D. Wayne Lukas' two Derby 129 hopefuls galloped early Thursday morning under exercise rider Stacy Maker. "Everything is good," said Lukas, who will be participating in the Derby for the 22nd time in 23 years. Scrimshaw will break from post position 17 under Cornelio Velazquez, who will be making his first Derby appearance. Post 17 never has produced a Derby winner. Ten Cents A Shine, with Calvin Borel making his fourth Derby appearance, will break from post 14. The 14 hole has produced two Derby winners (Middleground in 1950 and Carry Back in '61).

SIR CHEROKEE - Trainer Michael Tomlinson said Arkansas Derby winner Sir Cherokee galloped a mile Thursday morning at Trackside Training Center with assistant trainer D.W. Fries up. "He will gallop a mile and a half in the morning. We have done all we can and I am pretty pleased with how the week has gone," said Tomlinson, who will be saddling his first Kentucky Derby starter. Terry Thompson, riding in his first Kentucky Derby, will break Sir Cherokee from post position three, a spot that has produced eight Derby winners. The three most recent Derby winners to break from post position three also won the Preakness: Real Quiet in 1998, Alysheba in '87 and Spectacular Bid in '79.

SUPAH BLITZ - With jockey Rosemary Homeister Jr. up, Supah Blitz jogged and then galloped before the renovation break. Trainer Manny Tortora said Supah Blitz would not have any paddock or gate schooling sessions prior to Derby 129. "He has been to the paddock more than enough," Tortora said of Supah Blitz, who has more starts (15) than any of his 16 Derby rivals. "He doesn't need to go to the gate." Homeister, the 1992 Eclipse Award winner as the nation's top apprentice, has ridden at Churchill Downs only once. "I was on a horse named G.H.'s Pleasure in the five-furlong Aegon Turf Sprint on Oaks Day in 1999," said Homeister, whose mount finished eighth. "I am not riding anything early on Derby Day," Homeister added, "but I am galloping three horses this morning and getting a good feel for the track." Supah Blitz will break from post position one, a producer of a record 12 Derby winners. The most recent Derby winner to break from the one was Ferdinand in 1986.

TEN MOST WANTED - It was just prior to 7 a.m. on a warm and slightly muggy Louisville morning when trainer Wallace Dollase rode shotgun for his Kentucky Derby hope Ten Most Wanted as they headed out for a gallop and a gate session beneath the famous Twin Spires at Churchill Downs. Dollase, who was seated on his black Quarter Horse stable pony, led exercise rider Enrique Alferez and the handsome son of Deputy Commander through the six-furlong gap and through an exercise session that brought them just one training day away from their date with destiny on Saturday. Dollase had scheduled the gate training after taking Post 16 Wednesday night during the televised Derby Draw at the Kentucky Derby Museum. "He's OK in the gate, but he doesn't like waiting for them to load," the trainer said. "He gets a little tight. That's why I took 16. He won't have to wait long out there." When Ten Most Wanted returned from his morning's activities, Dollase pronounced himself pleased with it all. "It was busy over there (at the gate)," he noted. "It was almost too busy. But it is going to be busy Derby Day, too, so maybe this will help. He just stood in there fine. And I'll tell you, he fills that gate up." Following the gate session, the Illinois Derby winner galloped a mile and one quarter. Rider Pat Day, who is scheduled to handle Ten Most Wanted in the Run for the Roses, was at the Dollase barn Thursday to keep the trainer aware of his situation. The Hall of Fame rider had pulled a back muscle doing chores at home Monday and had not ridden Tuesday or Wednesday. He told Dollase that he had a therapy session scheduled for 10 a.m. and was hoping to ride his mounts Thursday afternoon. However, according to Day's agent Doc Danner, "His back stiffened up this morning from walking around the backstretch and he went for some more therapy. He just wants to make sure he is 100 percent ready for Friday and Saturday."

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