He's undefeated and untested, a stunningly gifted 2-year-old who hasn't even broken a sweat in five races. He could be the next superhorse, a living flame who finally could bring trainer Bob Baffert that elusive Triple Crown. The media has been beating the drums for Officer since his debut at Hollywood Park in early July, and he hasn't embarrassed any scribes or talking heads or any of the legion of chalk players who have made him odds-on every time.

	Officer's combined victory margin has been 26 1/4 lengths, and that could have been doubled.

It's been a different story for the horses that have chased him. Officer's combined victory margin has been 26 1/4 lengths, a distance that would have been doubled if jockey Victor Espinoza had ever stepped on the accelerator. He's been instructed not to, and the grand-looking son of Bertrando has a full tank and a well-tuned engine entering the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Oct. 27 at Belmont Park.

The Thoroughbred Corp.'s potential successor to dual classic-winner Point Given will be the heaviest favorite and almost everybody's Pick 6 single on racing's greatest day. If you saw him run, if you can call it that, in the 1 1/16-mile Champagne Stakes on Oct. 6 at Belmont, you know why.

Down the stretch Espinoza was upright in the saddle, seeming to be sitting on an invisible chair, as he yanked on the reins. The Daily Racing Form's chart comment for Officer was "on his own courage" for as effortless a Grade I win as you'll ever see. He won by 3 3/4, and with any encouragement it might have been 13 3/4.

"He's just a different kind of horse," Baffert said Wednesday on a conference call, "To this point, he's the most precocious horse I've had. He's very exciting. He's training well and he looks great. We refer to him as a superstar, because he does things effortlessly. He's never had to run. He's done everything without having to really lay his butt on the line."

We've seen only the good cop in Officer, but is there a bad cop in there who will come out under pressure and destroy the aura of invincibility? Easy Goer, in 1988, and Dehere, in 1993, were other sure things who failed at odds-on in the Juvenile. A lock of the century gets knocked off every week.

Officer can be compared to a brilliant young boxer who has sailed through all of his bouts with early-round knockouts against bozos. The test comes when he finally meets someone who won't go down easily and hits back. Can the champion-to-be take a punch? How will he respond to a little adversity, and will he enjoy being in a real fight?

There appear to be only three colts in the Juvenile capable of upsetting Officer. All are unbeaten, with two based in Southern California and one in Ireland.

Came Home was 3-for-3, including two stakes, before being scratched from last month's Norfolk Stakes with an ankle problem. He's training well, but the layoff of nearly two months will be a concern.

Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien sends Johannesburg, 6-for-6 on turf, into his dirt debut in as tough a spot as he could find. The son of Hennessy is bred for the main track but hasn't gone beyond 6 furlongs. O'Brien and rider Mick Kinane think he'll stay 1 1/16 miles, and he's worth a long look.

Siphonic could be the main danger to Officer after winning the Lane's End Breeders' Futurity by a widening 6 lengths despite facing pressure on the lead all the way. It was only his second start for trainer David Hofmans, who sent him out Oct. 16 for an excellent 5-furlong work in 59 3/5 seconds, third fastest of 37 at Belmont.

If one or more of this trio can put some heat on Officer, we'll learn whether he's just the latest overhyped 2-year-old or a young prince who could become a king.

"Hopefully, he'll turn out to be as good as Point Given," Baffert said. "He's showing he's got all the tools.

"He's going to have to run come Breeders' Cup day. It's going to be interesting to see what he does with a bigger field. We'll have to set him down in the big one, so we'll see what he's made of. And that's what all these races are all about."