O'Brien Horses En Route to Breeders' Cup; No Decision on 'Rock

A powerful team of eight horses from Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle Stables left Ireland on Tuesday for the Breeders' Cup and were expected to touch down in Chicago at 4:15 p.m. (Central time).

They include four possible contenders for the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) --  Hold That Tiiger, Van Nistelrooy, Marino Marini, and Tomahawk. So far O'Brien has only confirmed the first two as definite starters, but if all is well, and they get in, all four could run. "I want to see how Tomahawk is because he has had a busy time recently," O'Brien said.  Indeed, the son of Seattle Slew ran on Saturday when finishing second in the Dewhurst Stakes.

O'Brien added that a decision on whether Rock Of Gibraltar would contest the Mile or the Classic until the last possible moment. "I want to monitor Hawk Wing to see if he's okay for the Classic. If he isn't, Rock Of Gibraltar could go for the Classic instead," he said.