Prix Exbury off to delayed start

The Prix Exbury, postponed when last Friday's meeting at Saint-Cloud was abandoned because of frozen ground, will begin the European group race season at that suburban Paris track on Thursday.

The 1 1/4-mile Group 3 Exbury, valued at $99,000, has drawn a field of nine, three of them group race winners last year, with Lord du Sud the most prominent of the trio.

A son of Linamix, Lord du Sud beat subsequent Arc runner-up Cherry Mix into third when he won the Group 2 Prix Hocquart in May and was most recently second in the 1 15/16-mile Group 2 Prix Hubert de Chaudenay on Oct. 2.

Short Pause won the Group 3 Prix d'Hedouville last spring and was second in the Group 2 Prix Foy in September. But both of those races were at 1 1/2 miles, so he may find this 10 furlongs on the short side.

Samando followed her victory in last autumn's 1 9/16-mile Group 2 Prix de Royallieu with a fourth-place finish in the E.P. Taylor at Woodbine.

* Satin Kiss appears to have a straightforward task in Thursday evening's $250,000 UAE Oaks at Nad Al Sheba. A daughter of Seeking the Gold, she will be opposed by seven fillies, all of whom she beat when she led throughout to take the one-mile UAE 1000 Guineas by 4 1/2 lengths on Feb. 17.