Work in this game long enough and every answer from every trainer and jockey starts to sound the same. "Glow Worm could not be doing better," they will tell you, even if Glow Worm has three broken legs and the first signs of a highly fatal illness. Then there's, "I wouldn't trade places with anybody," which they'll say even if their horse is 50-1.Or sometimes it's, "I know he just worked four furlongs in 55 seconds, but it's exactly what we were looking for." The truth can be in short supply.

When a group of writers assembled Monday at Gallagher's Steak House in Manhattan for, first and foremost, a free lunch and, then, some bon mots from some of the European participants in the Breeders' Cup, they no doubt expected more of the same. Instead, they got a jarring dose of honesty from Irish jockey Michael Kinane, who will pilot seven horses this Saturday.

"It's going to be difficult for us," Kinane said via phone lines of the European contingent. "They'll find it very tough. If either Galileo or Fantastic Light runs up to their ratings on the turf, then, yes, they are capable of winning."

It was hardly a glowing endorsement, and it didn't stop there. Whenever one of Kinane's mounts was mentioned, he sounded as if he'd just as soon not get out of bed Saturday morning.

On Mozart, the talented sprinter who has won two straight Group I races, he said: "He's a high class colt, but he's had a long year. He's been racing exceptionally well since we switched him to sprinting. As a 3-year-old, he's facing an enormous task taking on those very tough American sprinters. We've given him one spin on an all-weather surface over here and he seems to have taken to it quite well, but things happen much more quickly in the Sprint. So he's going to have to be right with them. He won't have the pace to lead like he did a few times at home."

Juvenile starter Johannesburg is 6-for-6 this year and is regarded as the best 2-year-old in Europe. Still, he worries.

"He has been an exceptional colt this year," he said. "He's won six straight and he's done everything we've asked of him. But this is a big, big step for him. He's never gone beyond six furlongs and now we're asking him to go an extended mile on the dirt."

With Classic starter Galileo, again, he had plenty of questions: "He's been a consistent and exceptional 3-year-old this year, but he's had a long year," Kinane said. "He started in the beginning of April and now it's the end of October and now we're asking him to adapt to a different surface. If he runs up to his top form, and the same thing applies to Fantastic Light, then he'll put on a big show."

Does Kinane know something, that his top three mounts face obstacles they cannot clear or was he just pointing out the obvious, that there are a lot of unknowns attached to Mozart, Johannesburg and Galileo? It was hard to tell, but he sure didn't have you running to the bank to take out a second mortgage to bet on his horses, did he?

Dettori says Sakhee a lock if he runs in Turf

	Jockey Frankie Dettori has a laugh on Tuesday at Belmont .

Listening intently to Kinane's comments was one Frankie Dettori, who will ride, among others, Noverre in the Mile and Fantastic Light and Sakhee, one of whom will run in the Turf and another who will run in the Classic.

The always secretive Godolphin team has yet to reveal how it will divide up Sakhee and Fantastic Light, but Dettori made it clear how he'd vote if given a chance.

"If Sakhee doesn't run on the dirt and if I don't fall off the Turf is a formality. He will win," Dettori said.

Will they listen to what Dettori has to say? The answer is no.

"I will give my opinion but whether or not they will listen to me is another matter," he said. "Sheikh Mohammed just spent $23 million at the sales, so I don't think what I say will sway where they run. He is a touch more powerful than me. For the sheikhs, racing is something they love and it's somewhat of a hobby. It's not the be all and end all of everything. They are very sporting and sometimes they like to do things differently, but you have to respect them because they are the owners."

Though Dettori also knows the Europeans racing on the dirt represent unknown commodities, he came across as more optimistic than Kinane, pointing out that the Godolphin horses should be in good shape to handle their assignments.

"Fantastic Light has proven himself over and over again," he said. "He was won the Man o'War at Belmont, he's won in Hong King and has run well in Japan. He's a 5-year-old and he is a fighter. He saves himself in the mornings and that is why he is able to run so well in the afternoon."

Fantastic Light takes a liking to the dirt
The Fantastic Light mystery deepened some more Tuesday morning at Belmont. His first workout on the dirt since his U.S. arrival was dreadful, sending a clear signs that this horse wanted no part of the main track. Just as soon as everyone was ready to throw him out, he came with a splendid dirt work, breezing five furlongs in :59.80.

"I liked the way he conducted himself," Dettori said later. "He's a five-year-old and a true professional now. He did it quite easy and when he pulled up he looked around and said 'where is Galileo.' He was getting a bit bored by himself."

And while everyone is sure to second guess the Maktoum family if their decisions with Sakhee and Fantastic Light backfire, will anyone take Bill Mott to task if he is dead wrong about Hap? Hap is best suited to a mile and an eighth on the turf, so it stood to reason that Mott would chose the Mile for his horse, who very well could be the favorite in that spot. Instead, Hap will run in the Turf at a mile and a half. He has never run beyond a mile and a quarter and his last race came in the Keeneland Mile, which he won comfortably.

"He has never raced more than 10 furlongs, but I don't feel he is best suited for a mile at Belmont Park," Mott said. "So, we are experimenting a little bit and we may as well start here. There is no evidence that he can't handle the 12 furlongs. As long as the course is firm and he is still doing well by Saturday, we will be OK and we will be confident."

On paper, it looks like Mott is doing the wrong thing, especially if he has to take on Sakhee in the Turf. But you've got to give the man the benefit of the doubt. He knows what he is doing, plain and simple. Still, we don't get it.