Mendelssohn finally showed his face -- and let his voice be heard -- at Churchill Downs. 

The Aidan O'Brien-trained winner of the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and the $2 million UAE Derby arrived here from Ireland on Monday night, got out of quarantine Wednesday afternoon, and hit the track at 7:45 this morning just after the 15-minute training window reserved for Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby entrants.

Mendelssohn came out with the general equine population in order to maintain the routine O'Brien uses whenever he ships horses to America, Dubai, Hong Kong, or, presumably, any venue where training is done at the racetrack itself. There are three other O'Brien horses here - Seahenge (who runs in the Pat Day Mile), Deauville (Turf Classic), and Threeandfourpence (American Turf) - and as always is the case with the O'Brien shippers, the horses do everything together. They came out of the barn walking single file, trotted 1 1/2 laps going the "wrong" way around the Churchill oval, turned, and had an easy gallop, still maintaining some semblance of order.

Mendelssohn is one of the more vocal horses you'll encounter and he didn't disappoint today, hollering at various points during his training session. Mendelssohn worked up a lather while trotting the wrong way, but that is par for the course with O'Brien shippers, and totally understandable moving from the bucolic environment of Ballydoyle, O'Brien's yard in Ireland, onto a very crowded racetrack with dozens of strange horses pressing all around. Mendelssohn's coat looked good and his weight looked good, and it should come as no surprise if he has shipped well since Mendelssohn already has been to America and Dubai during his relatively brief career.