Though the connections of Breeders' Cup Juvenile contender Afleet Alex did contemplate a change, jockey Jeremy Rose will retain the mount aboard the Hopeful winner in the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Afleet Alex suffered his first career defeat when second to Proud Accolade in the Champagne. Rose blamed himself for the defeat, saying he allowed the horse to get stuck down along the inside. In the Hopeful, Rose hit Afleet Alex four times left-handed and the horse ducked out severely in the stretch, before recovering to win the race by a neck.

"He has my utmost confidence,'' trainer Tim Ritchey said Monday.

Ritchey was scheduled to van Afleet Alex to Long Island from Delaware Park on Monday for the flight to Texas. Ritchey believes it's important to give his horse some time to get acclimated to a different environment.

"I just want to get him used to the track and the atmosphere,'' Ritchey said. "We're getting a lot of cold weather here and it makes a difference.''

Trainer Nick Zito is making a rider change aboard his Juvenile prospect, Sun King, who finished third in the Champagne. Edgar Prado will replace Javier Castellano.

A plane will take five of Zito's horses - including Cup starters Birdstone, In the Gold, and Sun King - to Texas from Albany, N.Y., on Saturday. Those horses are stabled at Saratoga.

Proud Accolade fires Juvenile bullet
Unbeaten Champagne winner Proud Accolade worked five furlongs in 59.98 seconds Monday morning at Belmont Park in preparation for the Juvenile. It was the fastest of 48 works at the distance.

Proud Accolade, under Judy Krawjewski, started about two lengths behind stablemate Maillol, an unraced 2-year-old, and finished about a length in front at the wire. Krawjewski threw two solid crosses with the reins at Proud Accolade in the stretch and he galloped out strongly.

"The horse has come out of the Champagne really, really well,'' trainer Todd Pletcher said. "It was a good breeze this morning. We'll keep our fingers crossed that everything continues to go smoothly.''

Pletcher worked five of his Breeders' Cup starters Sunday and Monday. On Monday, Balto Star, who was pre-entered for the Turf and Mile, worked five furlongs in 1:00.05 over the main track.

Sunday, Distaff contender Ashado worked a strong five furlongs in 1:00.62 in company with Harlington, an unraced 2-year-old out of Serena's Song. Also Sunday, possible Sprint favorite Speightstown worked five furlongs in 1:01.72 in company with West Virginia, one of the choices for Saturday's Empire Classic at Belmont.

Newfoundland, prepping for the Classic, worked five furlongs in an easy 1:02.47.

Rebuttal to skip Juvenile
Owner Peter Minikes said Monday that Rebuttal would not ship in from Europe for the Juvenile.

Last week, Minikes said his trainer, Brian Meehan, was excited about the prospect of running Rebuttal in the Juvenile despite the fact he has never raced beyond six furlongs or on dirt. According to Minikes, Meehan's enthusiasm waned over the weekend, and the decision was made to stop on him for the year.

"We came to our senses - he's done enough this year,'' Minikes said. "Like I've said before, you're asking a lot for a horse to come from Europe and go to Texas. We're going to point for a European campaign early in the year and bring him over later in the year.''