LOUISVILLE, Ky. (April 17, 2005) - The trainers of two of the horses that finished behind Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor's victorious Bandini in Saturday's $750,000-added Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) said Sunday that their horses will forge on to the Kentucky Derby (GI) at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 7.

Trainer Bobby Frankel, who saw his runner-up High Limit lose for the first time in his career, and D. Wayne Lukas, whose Consolidator ran a disappointing fifth, said their horses were doing well in their stalls at Churchill Downs on the day after Bandini scored a powerful six-length victory in the mile and an eighth race.

Frankel expressed hope that Mary and Gary West's High Limit, winner of the Louisiana Derby (GII) in his previous start, would move forward off the race that marked his first defeat in four career starts and just his second race of his 3-year-old campaign.

"He ate up and everything seems fine," said Frankel. "There's no pressure on me now."

Frankel felt going into the Toyota Blue Grass that High Limit need a hard race to get the colt ready for the rigors of the mile and a quarter Derby. The Hall of Fame trainer said that portion of the mission was accomplished.

"If he wins easy, it's probably not going to be a good race for him," Frankel said. "I would be different if he had run three or four times this year, so we'll see. I don't know whether he's going to move forward or backwards. But I know one thing, you can tell from him this morning that he ran a tough race yesterday."

While he held second easily in the run through the Keeneland stretch, High Limit jumped the tracks left by the starting gate - an action that has become common in the colt's young career. Frankel is considering an equipment change to deal with that behavior.

"I'm even thinking of putting a little pair of blinkers on him, because obviously he's not paying attention if he's jumping tracks every time," Frankel said. "That's three times he's done that. I'm just wondering if it (the blinkers) would get him too rank, but it might not."

Lukas said that Robert and Beverly Lewis' Consolidator, a front-running winner of the San Felipe (GII) at Santa Anita and last fall's Lane's End Breeders' Futurity (GI) at Keeneland, appeared to have come out of his fifth-place finish in the Toyota Blue Grass well. The four-time Kentucky Derby winner remained a bit mystified by the tactics of jockey Rafael Bejarano, who took the free-running Storm Cat colt well off the pace in the early stages of the race.

"He's fine," said Lukas. "We just took him completely out of his game. Rafael, I think, was a little bit concerned about the speed and when a couple of those horses broke kind of sharp, he just elected to take back. We've never had a good race out of him taking back."

Regardless of the disappointing finish by his brightest Kentucky Derby hope, Lukas is now focused on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs after Saturday's poor run at Keeneland.

"That's never been a conclusive race over there, anyhow," Lukas said of the Toyota Blue Grass. "I've won it a couple of times and you couldn't find them in the Derby and then I've run back in it and won the Derby. So I just think that we'll just go on to the next one and see what happens."

Lukas has another Derby hopeful in his barn in Going Wild, another Lewis colt who ran last to Bellamy Road in the Wood Memorial (GI) but will get another chance to earn his way into the Kentucky Derby starting gate in next week's Coolmore Lexington (GII) at Keeneland. Going Wild is scheduled to breeze on Monday at Churchill Downs.

As for the overall Derby picture, Lukas said that Saturday's prep races, won with authority by Bandini at Keeneland and Afleet Alex in the $ 1 million Arkansas Derby (GII) at Oaklawn Park, did little to sort out the contenders from the pretenders.

"I think it's going to be one of those really tough ones to evaluate," said Lukas. "There might be some surprises in the Derby. I think it's very, very difficult to put this thing all together yet. We probably won't know it until they cross the finish line."

GREATER GOOD RETURNS TO CHURCHILL ON SUNDAY - A plane carrying several horses from Oaklawn Park - including Kentucky Derby contenders Flower Alley and Greater Good - is scheduled to arrive in Louisville early Sunday evening.

The plane was originally scheduled to arrive at mid-afternoon, but is now scheduled to land at Louisville International Airport around 6 p.m.

Lewis Lakin's Greater Good, winner of the Southwest and Rebel (GIII) at Oaklawn and last fall's Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) at Churchill Downs, finished fifth in the Arkansas Derby for trainer Robert Holthus as the 5-2 second choice.

Melnyk Racing Stable's Flower Alley, runner-up to Afleet Alex in the Arkansas Derby, will also be on the plane but will travel by van to Lexington and trainer Todd Pletcher's barn at Keeneland.

Arkansas Derby winner Afleet Alex was expected to travel to Churchill Downs later in the week.

BARN NOTES - Trainer Bobby Frankel was keeping a close eye Sunday morning on Padua Stable and John and Joseph Iracane's Cajun Beat, who suffered a career threatening ankle injury when he finished last of six horses in Keeneland's $400,000 Commonwealth Breeders' Cup (GII). Cajun Beat, winner of the 2003 Breeders' Cup Sprint (GI), was prominent to mid-stretch but gave way quickly in the seven-furlong race and was beaten by 15 ½-lengths. He was vanned off the track after the race. Frankel said on Sunday that the ankle had been stabilized and that veterinarians were watching it closely. Cajun Beat has a career record of 7-3-0 in 19 races and earnings of $1,159,100 ...Overbrook Farm's Storm Surge, winner of the Lecomte (GIII) at the Fair Grounds, breezed five furlongs in 1:01 over a "fast" track for trainer Dallas Stewart. The Storm Cat colt is scheduled to run in the Coolmore Lexington (GII) at Keeneland.

CORRECTION: The owner of Kentucky Derby contender High Fly was erroneously listed in Saturday's Barn Notes as Pin Oak Farm. The owner of the colt is Live Oak Plantation.

WORK TAB (track: FAST) - Oaklawn Handicap (GII) winner Grand Reward breezed four furlongs in :48.60, the second fastest clocking of 25 at the distance...2004 Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) winner Colonial Colony breezed five furlongs in 1:02...Col. E.R. Bradley Handicap winner America Alive breezed four furlongs in :49.80...Big Top Cat breezed four furlongs in :50.60...Durban Thunder, a Brazilian import who finished eighth in the UAE Derby at Dubai's Nad al Sheba, breezed a half-mile in 50.60 for trainer Ken McPeek...Louisville Handicap (GIII) winner Silverfoot breezed five furlongs in 1:00.

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