That is nothing new for the Distaff. In 11 of its previous 19 runnings, the Distaff has had eight runners or fewer.

Azeri, whose victory in last year's Distaff clinched for her the 2002 Horse of the Year title, also was pre-entered in the $4 million Classic, but the Distaff is her first choice.

Azeri most recently crossed the wire third and was moved up to second in the Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap, which was won by Got Koko here on Sept. 28. Elloluv, who finished second in that race but was disqualified to fourth, and the horse she was deemed to have fouled, Adoration, both had key workouts Thursday morning.

Elloluv trains regularly at Hollywood Park, where trainer Craig Dollase is based. She worked six furlongs there in 1:13, the best time of seven at the distance. Her Distaff rider, Corey Nakatani, was aboard.

"She finished the last quarter in 23 and change," Dollase said from Hollywood Park.

The Lady's Secret was the first start for Elloluv since she finished fourth in the Kentucky Oaks May 2. Dollase said he gave Elloluv a break because the Oaks "really flattened her out."

"We just decided to let her tell us when she was ready," Dollase said. "Now we've got a good, fresh filly, and she's peaking at the right time. There's no indication that last race took too much out of her. In fact, she gained some weight."

Dollase said Elloluv would be sent by van from Hollywood Park to Santa Anita on Monday, and would likely have "a little blow out" on Tuesday morning.

Here at Santa Anita, Adoration turned in a moderate seven-furlong work under jockey Patrick Valenzuela. She went off slowly, then finished under a bit of urging late. Her official time was recorded as 1:26.

David Hofmans, who trains Adoration, said he wanted Adoration to start off easily, in order to teach her to relax.

"That was the plan," Hofmans said. "We want her finishing. She's more keen in the morning. We're trying to get her to relax the first part. It looks like we'll be the speed of the race. I don't want Patrick fighting her like last time."

Adoration was making only her second start since January when she competed in the Lady's Secret. She was part of the pace until late in the stretch, when Valenzuela was forced to check her while in traffic.

Hofmans conceded that Adoration would be a longshot, and that a major reason why she is running is that this year's Breeders' Cup is at Santa Anita, where Adoration is based.

"We're running because we're home," Hofmans said. "She likes the track, so we'll give it a shot."

This year's Distaff seems certain to decide the Eclipse Award for champion older filly or mare, and a victory by any of the 3-year-old fillies - Buy the Sport, Elloluv, or Lady Tak - could bring that horse a divisional championship.

:: BC Distaff Preps - Charts - Recaps - Beyers

It is whenever Got Koko needs a between-meal snack. She will take a mouthful of hay, carefully move across her stall to her water bucket, and drop the hay into the water. A few minutes later, she digs into a treat she finds mmm, mmm good.

Got Koko is going from soup to the nuts. She will be one of the leading contenders in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff, which is expected to have a field deep on talent, though short on numbers, when the World Thoroughbred Championships are held at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.

Her rivals are expected to include Azeri, the 2002 Horse of the Year; Sightseek, who developed into the top filly in New York this summer and fall; and Take Charge Lady, who most recently won Keeneland's Spinster Stakes for the second straight year. Toss in Grade 1-winning 3-year-old fillies Elloluv and Lady Tak, and the first of the eight Breeders' Cup races promises to get the day off to a strong start.

Got Koko has proven she belongs in that company. This winter at Santa Anita, she swept the three-race La Canada Series, becoming only the third 4-year-old filly to win the La Brea, El Encino, and La Canada stakes. In the La Canada, she defeated Sightseek while spotting Sightseek three pounds. And in her most recent start, Got Koko ended Azeri's 11-race winning streak by capturing the Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap.

She also has a home-field advantage. Got Koko has won 5 times in 7 starts at Santa Anita, where she is based with trainer Bruce Headley.

Got Koko is one race away from being named the nation's champion older filly or mare. Yet her life has been one of curious under-appreciation. She is a daughter of Signal Tap, and was bred in Texas, both of which likely contributed to her being purchased for a mere $30,000 as a yearling. She has won 7 times in 13 starts - and is 7 for 10 if you exclude her three grass races - yet she has never been favored in any of her races, not even in the La Canada Stakes, when she was going for the series sweep.

She certainly will not be favored in the Distaff, not with Azeri and Sightseek grabbing the headlines. Got Koko was not even the main story she when the won the Lady's Secret three weeks ago. Her victory was overshadowed by Azeri's loss in the same race. If she wins the Distaff, though, Got Koko will finally get all the accolades.

"I would think so," said Headley, who purchased Got Koko as a yearling at Keeneland on behalf of his wife, Aase, and Paul Leung. "She has beaten Sightseek, and she beat Azeri. It would be logical to vote for her if she won on Breeders' Cup Day."

Headley said he was first attracted to Got Koko at the sale because "she looked like a runner." The bay filly, who has a long, white blaze down her face and a generous splash of white on her left front ankle, is "very correct and had all the dimensions of being a runner," Headley said.

"Plus, she was 30G's," he said, chuckling.

"She's a little bigger than average size," Headley added. "She has flat muscles, long legs, and a long stride. She's easy to train. She's not a run-off. She's not fractious. She doesn't sweat. She's very calm. And she eats well."

Got Koko rose to prominence last winter at Santa Anita. She was a 17-1 upset winner of the seven-furlong La Brea, then overcame wide trips to take both the El Encino and the La Canada. But in her first try in stakes company against older rivals, she flopped in the March 9 Santa Margarita Handicap, beaten 10 lengths by Starrer.

"The La Canada Series took its toll," Headley said. "She used a lot of energy up in those races. She was listless. Four races was too much."

Headley decided to give Got Koko a lengthy rest. "I needed to get her energy back up," he said. Got Koko did not return to races until five months later, in Del Mar's Clement Hirsch Handicap, in which she finished second to Azeri

"She was as fit as I could make her. She had worked a mile in 1:37, and had a series of fast workouts, but there's not anything like a race to get you at your best," Headley said. "And Azeri was at her best that day."

Got Koko was at her best in the Lady's Secret. "I thought we had a real good chance to get closer to Azeri, but to think we could beat Azeri was just a hopeful thought," Headley said.

No longer. Got Koko has done it once. If she does it again while winning the Distaff, an Eclipse Award is hers.

"You have to give Azeri the benefit of the doubt," Headley said. "It wasn't her day last time. But my filly's a trier. She's doing great. She came out of her last race in exceptional shape, and she's been playful after her work. Any horse who has a home-court advantage has an edge, especially when they like Santa Anita like she does."

:: BC Distaff Preps - Charts - Recaps - Beyers

"I don't think it's a good business decision - she could finish second and the owner would only break even," Frankel explained. He said Wild Spirit's owner, Oussama Abou-Ghazale, told him that if there were any doubts, "don't worry about it."

Frankel said Wild Spirit "is a great filly, and I want her for next year. She's liable to be the best filly in the country next year. Her numbers are the best in the country."

The defection of Wild Spirit means Frankel will have one starter in the Distaff. It might be enough. Sightseek, runner-up in three graded stakes at Santa Anita early this year before launching a four-race win streak in Kentucky and New York, will be the first Frankel trainee to face Azeri.

Sightseek must also deal with Got Koko, who beat Sightseek in the La Canada in February at Santa Anita.

Frankel pre-entered Aldebaran and Midas Eyes in the Sprint, and they worked six furlongs in company Tuesday at Hollywood Park. Aldebaran broke off behind Midas Eyes, and they finished evenly. Aldebaran was timed in 1:13.20; Midas Eyes was timed in 1:13.60. They will work once more before game day.

Peace Rules posted the fastest work of the day - six furlongs in 1:12.40. "That's his typical work," Frankel said. The trainer said Peace Rules was cross-entered in the Mile and the Classic, but he expects to start Peace Rules in the Mile, while Medaglia d'Oro will run in the Classic.

Frankel said his eight pre-entrants were Medaglia d'Oro, Sightseek, Peace Rules, Aldebaran, Midas Eyes, and three for the Filly and Mare Turf - Heat Haze, Megahertz, and Tates Creek.

Be Gentle, Got Koko work out

It was dark and foggy, but Be Gentle did in fact work five furlongs Tuesday morning at Santa Anita. Runaway winner of the Alcibiades on Oct. 3 at Keeneland, Be Gentle will take on Halfbridled in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Be Gentle worked before dawn and was timed in 59.80 seconds. Track clockers did not record the workout.

Cornelio Velasquez will ride Be Gentle and BC Juvenile entrant Race for Glory for Lukas; the trainer was looking for a rider for Juvenile Fillies entrant Renaissance Lady.

In other workouts, Got Koko went seven furlongs early Tuesday morning in 1:29 and will have one more drill before she meets Sightseek and Azeri in the Distaff.

Class Above worked seven furlongs Tuesday in 1:25 under David Flores for the Juvenile Fillies. "She came home really good the last three-eighths," Flores said. Class Above will be one of two Bob Baffert-trained runners in the Juvenile Fillies, along with Victory U. S. A.

Honor in War withdrawn from Mile

Honor in War has been declared out of the Mile after being diagnosed with filling and heat in a front ankle, trainer Paul McGee said Tuesday at Churchill Downs.

Honor in War, winner of the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve in May and most recently a sharp second behind Perfect Soul in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland, most likely will be able to race again, but "obviously the timing on something like this is awful," said McGee.

"He actually X-rayed clean and ultrasounded clean, but clinically, there is some heat and swelling there," he said.

Honor in War is owned by 3rd Turn Stables, a Louisville-based syndicate headed by former NFL All-Pro lineman Will Wolford. A 4-year-old horse by Lord at War, Honor in War has been pre-entered in Keeneland's breeding stock sale next month.

McGee said further diagnosis will determine whether Honor in War can race in the Nov. 16 River City at Churchill. "We're trying to get past this first," he said.

Clock Stopper, Ethan Man to Sprint

Clock Stopper, winner of the Perryville Stakes at Keeneland last week, has been pre-entered in the Sprint, although "we're going to watch how he trains before we make an absolute final decision," said trainer Dallas Stewart.

Clock Stopper, a 3-year-old gelding owned by Overbrook Farm, was ridden by Robby Albarado in the Perryville, but Albarado will stay in Kentucky to ride Tenpins in the Fayette Stakes on BC Day. Stewart, based at Churchill Downs, was checking into his jockey options Tuesday.

Another Churchill-based gelding, Ethan Man, definitely will run in the Sprint, said trainer Pat Byrne. "He'll breeze next Tuesday or Wednesday," said Byrne. "We're on the Wednesday flight out to California."

Rene Douglas, who guided Ethan Man to a runner-up finish in the Oct. 3 Phoenix at Keeneland, will be back aboard in the Breeders' Cup.

Gygistar to miss Sprint again

Maybe Gygistar has a case of stage fright.

For the second straight year, Gygistar will miss the Sprint. Last year, he injured a foot three days after pre-entries were made. This year, Gygistar was diagnosed with a 104-degree temperature Sunday morning, two days before pre-entries were due.

Trainer Mark Hennig said Gygistar was not pre-entered in the Sprint and, if he gets healthy in time, could make his next start in the De Francis Dash at Laurel Park on Nov. 15.

"He's got that curse of the Bambino, only it's the curse of the Breeders' Cup," Hennig said. "He worked great Saturday but left all his dinner, and on Sunday he had a 104 temperature. We treated him and he snapped right out of it, but he's going to miss four or five days of training."

Forest Music a go in Juvenile Fillies

Forest Music, who earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 105 for her first-out maiden win at Laurel Park on Oct. 8, will run in the Juvenile Fillies, trainer Mark Shuman confirmed Tuesday.

Shuman said owner Michael Gill expressed a desire to run in the race if the filly was okay, and Shuman said he couldn't find a reason to say no.

"I told him, 'You've got to face some seasoned horses,' " Shuman said. "He said, 'If she's physically doing good, I'd like to try her.' "

Although Shuman said Forest Music had a "sensitive shin" the morning after the race, he said she was problem-free the following day. Shuman said it wasn't surprising to have some sensitivity considering that Forest Music ran six furlongs in 1:08.53, the fastest final six-furlong time for a first-time starter in the history of Laurel Park.

Shuman said Edgar Prado has accepted the mount on Forest Music, who will ship to California on Tuesday.

Eight entered in BC Steeplechase

Eight horses, headed by McDynamo, have been entered in Saturday's $175,000 Breeders' Cup Steeplechase at the Far Hills Races in Far Hills, N.J.

McDynamo was a runaway winner of his only previous start this year, in the Royal Chase at Keeneland. That marked his third consecutive victory. Jockey Craig Thornton is traveling from New Zealand for the ride. McDynamo tuned up for the Breeders' Cup with a second-place finish in a National Steeplechase Association training race on the flat on Sept. 28 at Foxfield in Virginia.

Sanna Hendriks, the trainer of McDynamo, also is represented by Lord Zada, who will be making his first start since capturing the 2002 version of the Royal Chase. He was second in the 2001 Breeders' Cup Steeplechase.

The other entrants are Mulahen, Mr Perkolater, Trebizond, Indispensable, Pelagos, and Hotspur.

The Breeders' Cup Steeplechase encompasses 2 5/8 miles and 14 fences. It is the fourth race on a six-race program that begins at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Breeders' Cup roundup

* Voodoo Dancer, who has not raced since winning the Grade 1 Diana Handicap on July 26, worked an easy half-mile in 50.60 seconds over Belmont's main track Tuesday morning. Trainer Christophe Clement said he was not looking for anything faster because Voodoo Dancer puts so much into her morning gallops.

* Trainer Patrick Byrne said Tuesday that Everyday Angel, second to Zosima in the Arlington Matron, would skip the Juvenile Fillies. "We decided to back off her," Byrne said.

* Buy the Sport was pre-entered on Tuesday in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, according to trainer Bobby Barbara, who said a rider for 3-year-old filly had yet to be determined.

* That's An Outrage won a two-turn maiden race Sunday at Santa Anita in his sixth career start - earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 86 - but the effort was enough to convince trainer Mike Puhich and the colt's owners to pre-enter in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

- additional reporting by David Grening, Marty McGee, and Jay Privman

:: BC Distaff Preps - Charts - Recaps - Beyers

But Take Charge Lady was not able to beat division leaders Azeri, Sightseek, and Wild Spirit earlier this year. She ran well against them, finishing second each time. Next, she must face all three, along with Santa Anita specialist Got Koko, in the Breeders' Cup Distaff on Oct. 25 at Santa Anita. Take Charge Lady will be seeking to atone for a sixth-place finish in last year's Distaff.

Her trainer, Ken McPeek, thinks Take Charge Lady is capable of running far better this year. In the hope of having her peaking on Oct. 25, McPeek said he trained Take Charge Lady a little easier for this year's Spinster than he did last year. Take Charge Lady had just two workouts in five weeks. She won Sunday by a diminishing head from You.

"I was worried that I didn't have her fit enough," McPeek said Wednesday from Kentucky. "I didn't want to tap her out. Last year, she ran a great race in the Spinster, but she threw in a clunker in the Breeders' Cup. We wanted to win the Spinster again this year, but we didn't want to play all our best cards. It wasn't her best race, but I think she can come back and run significantly better in her next race."

She will have to. The Distaff is coming up one of the strongest Breeders' Cup races in terms of quality. In terms of quantity, however, it figures to have the smallest field. As of Wednesday, only eight runners - Adoration, Azeri, Elloluv, Got Koko, Lady Tak, Sightseek, Take Charge Lady, and Wild Spirit - were pointing for the Distaff.

Azeri, whose victory in last year's Distaff clinched the 2002 Horse of the Year title, is scheduled to work on Saturday for the first time since her 11-race win streak ended in the Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap two weeks ago. Her trainer, Laura de Seroux, said Azeri had been a little quiet earlier this week, but she perked up Tuesday afternoon and "came out of her stall on her toes," de Seroux said, before a routine gallop on Wednesday at San Luis Rey Downs.

Sightseek and Wild Spirit were scheduled to be flown from New York to California on Wednesday, trainer Bobby Frankel said. Wild Spirit's owner, Oussama Abou-Ghazale, intends to pay the $400,000 supplemental fee to get Wild Spirit into the Distaff.

Elloluv, who crossed the wire second behind Got Koko in the Lady's Secret before being disqualified to fourth, has "put on weight since her last race, which is a pleasant surprise," trainer Craig Dollase said.

"It shows she's doing well," Dollase said.

:: BC Distaff Preps - Charts - Recaps - Beyers

Bird Town, owned by Marylou Whitney and trained by Nick Zito, finished second to Sightseek in last Saturday's Grade 1 Beldame Stakes at Saratoga. Whitney had previously stated that she did not want to run Bird Town in the Breeders' Cup Distaff as a 3-year-old and wants to breed her next year. A stallion has not yet been picked out. Bird Town, who retires sound, will be boarded at Gainesway Farm.

"Marylou's of the belief that when you have a filly like that you don't overrun them," said John Hendrickson, Whitney's husband and president of Marylou Whitney Stables. "Running against older horses is not for the Bird. There's nothing left for her to do."

Bird Town, a daughter of Cape Town out of the Storm Bird mare Dear Birdie, retired with a record of 4-6-1 from 12 career starts and earnings of $871,251. In May, she upset the Kentucky Oaks at odds of 18-1, overcoming a stumbling start to win by 3 1/4 lengths. She came back to win the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont by a head over Lady Tak.

Bird Town, an older half-sister to Champagne winner Birdstone, finished second to Lady Tak in the Test and ran a disappointing fifth in the Alabama before running second to Sightseek in the Beldame.

"I think she should be the leading candidate for 3-year-old filly,'' Hendrickson said.

Suzie Picou-Oldham

Take Charge Lady (left) holds off You by a head to take the $500,000 Overbrook Spinster Stakes at Keeneland on Sunday.

Take Charge Lady, the 1-2 favorite in a field of six, appeared on her way to a smashing win in the 48th running of the Grade 1 Spinster, but the filly grew alarmingly weary in the final yards when holding on by a diminishing head over You. Whatever the case, the triumph makes Take Charge Lady the first horse to win four of the top-tier races at Keeneland and just the fourth to win two runnings of the Spinster, the track's annual fall showcase for fillies and mares.

"She was trying real hard," said Edgar Prado, who rode Take Charge Lady to win the Spinster for the second straight year. "She got a little tired the last 70 yards, but these kinds of horses give you everything to the wire."

Before an ontrack crowd of 12,110, Miss Linda held a short early lead over You, with Take Charge Lady tracking from a striking position. Prado elected to guide his mount outside of the top two going into the far turn, and after straightening for home, Take Charge Lady took full command and seemed all set for a runaway score.

But then she began shortening stride, and as You, the 2-1 second choice for jockey Jerry Bailey and trainer Bobby Frankel, began gaining furiously on the rail, the wire arrived in the nick of time. Miss Linda finished four lengths behind in third, followed by Printemps, Desert Gold, and Reason to Talk.

Take Charge Lady, a 4-year-old Dehere filly owned by the Select Stable of Jerry and Feye Bach, returned $3 after finishing 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.57 over a fast track. Her next start will come in the Oct. 25 Breeders' Cup Distaff.

"We didn't want to overdo it for this race, before the Distaff," said trainer Ken McPeek. Take Charge Lady has run her two worst races in the Breeders' Cup (2001 Juvenile Fillies and 2002 Distaff), but "we're hoping to make amends this time," said McPeek.