Lava bubbling ahead of classic
Doug O’Neill is delighted with the condition of Lava Man ahead of the Breeders’ Cup Classic – but understands why he is only third favourite.
The Churchill Downs highlight this weekend has been billed by the marketing men as a battle between east and west coasts, a showdown between New York’s Bernardini and California’s Lava Man.
Bookmakers see it differently, however, installing Invasor as general second favourite behind Bernardini – with Lava Man next in the betting.
O’Neill said: “The bottom line is that we have a former claimer who hasn’t won outside California and we’ve got to prove ourselves.
“Bernardini has not only been impressive in New York but in Florida and Maryland, and he’s royally bred.
“We like what we’re bringing and think Lava Man’s doing exceptional, but we realise the numbers and our (lack of travel) beyond California means we’ve got a lot to prove.
“We think we’ll be okay.”
Having ventured out of California, O’Neill has gone to great lengths to make the transition to Kentucky as seamless as possible.
He added: “After we won the Goodwood at Santa Anita the owners and I huddled up and decided we wanted to go about this trip from California differently and that’s why we chose to come to Churchill three weeks early.
“It’s gone as well as it possibly could and we’re fortunate to have other runners here for the Breeders’ Cup, so we’ve got a big crew here and we’ve managed to keep it as familiar to Hollywood Park as we can.
“It couldn’t be going any better, save for a good result on Saturday.”
