At odds with oddsmaker

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- Making the morning line is a difficult job, and Lone Star Park oddsmaker Rick Lee did not escape the wrath of trainer D. Wayne Lukas when Lee established the mare Azeri at 15-1 for the Classic during yesterday's post position draw for Saturday's Breeders' Cup. Pleasantly Perfect, the leading candidate to be Horse of the Year, was made the 5-2 favorite for the $4 million event.

"The morning line, I think, was shaky all day," said Lukas, who joined owner Michael Paulson in the decision to run Azeri against the males rather than in the Distaff, in which, Lee said, he would have made her the 6-5 choice. "That can't hold up. I think she'll be 5-1 or 6-1. If anyone wants to bet that she'll be 15-1, I wish I could take the under. Half of the population will be rooting for her. I'd love to take some action on that, but I'm not a betting man because there's too much at stake."

Azeri, only the third female to try the Classic in 21 runnings [Triptych finished sixth in 1986, and Jolypha third in '92], drew post position No. 3 in the 13-horse field, and that made Lukas happy. Ghostzapper, the contending speed against Azeri, drew No. 1, which can be a difficult post, even at the 1 1/4-mile distance of the Classic, because the rail horse can be crowded.

"We wanted No. 3, 4, or 5," said Lukas. "I don't think that the trainer of Ghostzapper [Bobby Frankel] is happy with his post, but we are."

Pleasantly Perfect, the defending Classic champion and winner of the $4 million Dubai World Cup in March, drew post No. 12.

"I wasn't really concerned about the post," said trainer Richard Mandella. "He'll ease back in the early going and settle off the first flight of runners, anyway."

'Kitten' a tiger
The shortest-priced horse among the 92 entered for the eight-race, $14 million program is Kitten's Joy, listed at even money in the $2 million Turf, contested at 1 1/2 miles. Kitten's Joy, a tiger on the grass, is a 3-year-old colt who has won eight of nine starts over the lawn, and ran second in the other. There are only eight entered in the Turf, and he could dominate from post No. 4.

"I didn't feel nervous until he was made even money," said trainer Dale Romans. "I had been calm all week until they said that. Now, I'm kind of in awe of the whole situation. But we're right in the middle, and in an eight-horse field that's a perfect spot to be in. When you're in the middle, you're better off.

"We can decide what we want to do, nobody can dictate to us. We can just go forward and do what we want to do. I didn't want him on the rail, I wanted horses on both sides of him."

`Ouija' on board Ouija Board, a top European 3-year-old who won the English and Irish Oaks and ran third against the boys in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, drew post No. 5 and is a solid 8-5 pick in the $1 million Filly and Mare Turf, raced at 1 3/8 miles.

"I was hoping for No. 4 or 5, so I'm happy with that," said her rider, Kieren Fallon, who was present for the draw. "It gives you options at the break. It's very humid here, but if she handles that I think she's the best filly in the race."

Phoning it in
Ken Ramsey, owner of Kitten's Joy, also owns Roses In May, held at 5-1 in the Classic after winning all five of his starts this season. Ramsey, who lives in Lexington, Ky., made his money in the cellular phone business, and he has been an upbeat presence here this week, handing out buttons with his horses' names on them, including Nothing To Lose, his third Breeders' Cup starter, who is listed as the 7-2 favorite in the $1 million Mile.

When informed that Azeri was being entered in the Classic, Ramsey said, "My father always told me, `Ladies first,' but not in the Classic."