Please Lord looks to break out

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Two interesting races should get Breeders' Cup week off to a good start at Bay Meadows on Wednesday.

A first-level allowance sprint for fillies and mares and a five-furlong turf dash for $32,000 claimers both offer quality and quantity for bettors, an all-too-rare occurrence of late.

Please Lord, a $140,000 2-year-old purchase last year, and Vaca City Flyer, who was claimed for $8,000 from her maiden victory this year at Solano, are the ones to beat in the six-furlong allowance sprint, which goes as the sixth on Wednesday.

Please Lord has been a bit of a disappointment, trainer Brian Koriner said, but notes that he uses the term "disappointment" only because she has been so close in every race, yet has won only once. She has 3 seconds in 4 starts, with a combined margin of defeat of 1 1/2 lengths in the three losses.

Please Lord debuted in an allowance race at Golden Gate Fields on April 3, losing by a head to the talented Madrone, who ran third in a stakes in her next start.

"A race like that can make you feel that she could be a monster," Koriner said.

Please Lord was bet down to 3-10 as part of an entry in her second start and suffered her worst defeat, losing by three-quarters of a length.

Please Lord graduated in her next start after a nearly five-month layoff, then ran second to My Charmian, beaten a half-length, in her last start.