BREEDERS' CUP NOTEBOOK: NAKATANI HAS CHANCE FROM START TO FINISH.

Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer

Corey Nakatani can cap a bounce-back season - one with the usual bouts of controversy - Saturday at Lone Star Park in Texas when he is scheduled to join the exclusive list of jockeys who have competed in every race on a Breeders' Cup card.

Appeals of a 30-day suspension for a dangerous-riding incident at Santa Anita in March have delayed the ban at least until December, allowing Nakatani to break back into the national earnings top 10 this year and lead the jockey standings at Del Mar for his first championship since a 2002 neck injury.

The 34-year-old Covina native expects a big day Saturday, when his mounts include early favorites Roman Ruler (2-1 odds) in the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Sweet Catomine (5-2) in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

``When you ride horses like these,'' Nakatani said Sunday at Santa Anita, ``you should be confident.''

The Lone Star oddsmaker pegged Nakatani's other horses at 10-1 to 20-1. Still, to hear Nakatani discuss his full card, they're all contenders.

--Elloluv (in the $2 million Distaff) is back in form after summer health problems: ``Last year she was a little bit tired going into the Breeders' Cup, and she finished second,'' Nakatani said. ``This year she's going into the race fresh and training great.''

--Sweet Catomine (Juvenile Fillies) prepped for trainer Julio Canani by rallying from seventh for a four-length win in the Oak Leaf Stakes: ``She's one of the best 2-year-old fillies I've sat on. There aren't too many fillies who are going to outkick her.''

--Blackdoun ($1.5 million Mile) swept Del Mar's 3-year-old turf series for Canani this summer but must face older horses for the first time Saturday: ``His (come-from-behind) style could hinder him a little bit, with the tight turns (at Lone Star), but I have no doubt about his ability.''

--Pt's Grey Eagle ($1 million Sprint) is a 3-year-old who beat elders in the Ancient Title Handicap at Santa Anita under apprentice Alex Bisono: ``The key (in the Sprint) is to be patient,'' said Nakatani, whose five Breeders' Cup victories include Sprint wins with Lit de Justice (1996), Elmhurst (1997) and Reraise (1998). ``(Pt's Grey Eagle) is a young horse, but he seems like he's got tremendous ability, and he's peaking at the right time.''

--Megahertz ($1 million Filly & Mare Turf) races after a five-month break for trainer Bobby Frankel, who has won with only two of 57 Breeders' Cup starters: ``From what I see, (Frankel) is more patient with horses now. Before, he'd run in all these big races, and when the horses got to the Breeders' Cup, they were tired. If (Megahertz) puts her best foot forward, they're not going to beat her.''

--Roman Ruler (Juvenile), better focused after trainer Bob Baffert fitted him with blinkers, won the Norfolk by 4 1/2 lengths but received low speed figures: ``I know how the track was. I don't go by the numbers. I go by (the fact) he did things he may need to do in the next race.''

--Sarafan ($2 million Turf), a 7-year-old gelding, tries to break a 15-race losing streak at the graded-stakes level: ``He dances every dance - (in) Hong Kong, Japan, Dubai - and he's still here. He may be a cut below the best, but it's not for lack of trying.''

--Dynever ($4 million Classic), 10-1 on the morning line, finished third in the 2003 Classic won by 2004 favorite Pleasantly Perfect: ``I think he's a cut below at a mile and an eighth, but a mile and a quarter is more to his liking,'' Nakatani said of the 1 1/4-mile Classic. ``I think he's fresh coming into the Breeders' Cup, and that should help his kick.''

If all of Nakatani's horses are entered on Wednesday and start on Saturday, he'll join Jerry Bailey (1999, 2000, 2001) and John Velazquez (2002, 2003) as the only men to ride in every race since the Breeders' Cup expanded to eight races in 1999.

Kevin Modesti, [phone]

heymodesti(at)aol.com

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21ST BREEDERS' CUP