O’Brien team ‘have their chances’
"The European way is to take your time but the Americans jump and run fast," said the Ballydoyle trainer.
"The horses seem to have enjoyed it and obviously having Kieren (Fallon) riding for you is also a big plus because he knows exactly what to do."
O'Brien said he thought all of his runners "have their chances".
"Mona Lisa is an improving filly who ran probably her best race last time out," he reported.
"We have thought for a long time that Ivan Denisovich will appreciate a mile but the doubt is whether he will go on the dirt as some Danehills don't.
"Ace is a very hardy horse, while the only thing we don't know about Oratorio is whether he will handle racing on dirt.
"We looked at previous Classic winners and they were tough with speed and stayed a mile and a quarter and he has all those things.
"He cantered round on the dirt well enough this morning and we are very happy with him but we won't know until the gates open whether he is good enough to win the Classic.
"If he broke well and everything went well then who knows what might happen?"
Meanwhile, Jerry Bailey made his acquaintance with brilliant filly Ouija Board as the pair stepped out for a canter on the Belmont Park turf.
The 48-year-old Hall of Fame rider comes into this year's Breeders' Cup with one of the strongest book of rides a jockey has had at the meeting seven mounts with the distinct possibility four could be sent off as favourite.
Bailey, the 13-8 market leader with Paddy Power to be the meeting's top jockey, has hinted this could be his last season in the saddle. But if he does bow out before the end of the year, he will be doing so at the top of his game.
And he hopes his partnership with Ouija Board, secured when his agent contacted trainer Ed Dunlop for the ride, will prove to be a winning one.
"I have been given a DVD of her past performances and obviously I like what I have seen," he said.
"I know she is an adaptable filly. She can win races through stalking or closing and has a powerful run which you can start from more than 400 metre) out.
"That makes my job easier because it means I can ride the race as I find it.
"I often think the first time you ride a horse is the easiest because I go into the race with no pre-conceived ideas about what I have got to do she can tell me what she wants to do and when she's going to do it."
Dunlop was pleased with the way the course was drying out, although John Oxx is still making pessimistic noises about it being too soft for Azamour.
