Touchuponastar, the standout Louisiana-bred 6-year-old, has returned to regular training after his ridiculously easy Dec. 13 win in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic. Where and when he races next remains to be decided.

Jake Delhomme, the principal in Set-Hut, Touchuponastar’s owner, already has done plenty of thinking about the gelding’s near-term future. He’ll do plenty more.

“There’s a lot to think about,” Delhomme said Friday morning. “I don’t look at that as a burden. I look at it as a privilege.”

Shaken Goin On is a half-length away from a perfect season at Los Alamitos this year, a record that will leave her the favorite in Sunday’s $175,000 Southern California Derby at 400 yards.

Shaken Goin On, trained by Eddie Willis for James Sills and Abel Flores, set the fastest qualifying time for Sunday’s race by winning the first of two time trials in 19.74 seconds on Nov. 30.

Hillerito may be the dominant speed Sunday when the up-and-coming female sprinter seeks to win her fifth race of the year in the $150,000 Poinsettia at Oaklawn Park.

“I’ve got very high hopes for her,” said owner and trainer David Jacobson.

The Poinsettia matches fillies and mares over 5 1/2 furlongs. It drew a field of six, including stakes winners Benedetta and Jersey Pearl, and the stakes-placed runners Tapit Quick, Gray Lightning, and Kant Believe It.

Heroic Move might be facing two past winners of the $75,000 Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial on Saturday night at Remington Park, but the road to the winner’s circle for this year’s renewal appears to go through him.

The Hawk Memorial, which is for 3-year-olds and up, is one of five undercard stakes supporting the $300,000 Springboard Mile. They help close out the meet on a card that has a special twilight post of 5 p.m. Central.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will be looking to close out a memorable Remington Park meet on Saturday night when he sends out three horses, led by Grade 3 winner Spice Runner, against the unbeaten Arctic Beast in the $300,000 Springboard Mile.

The race offers Kentucky Derby points, and Spice Runner already has 11 by virtue of his win in the Grade 3 Iroquois in September at Churchill Downs and his fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity in October at Keeneland.

We’re not here asking for polite, office-party holiday gifts. It’s either gold nuggets or lumps of coal this third Saturday in December.

Suwannee River

In fairness, Movin’ On Up figures the shortest price among this week’s three opinions, but even she – if not gold nugget-class – ought to offer square odds.

Trainer Brittany Russell isn’t ready to call it yet, but in what could be his final race, Post Time will have nothing to prove and everything to gain in the $100,000 Robert T. Manfuso Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday. The Maryland-bred superstar will be rematched with 3-year-old gelding Barbadian Runner, who upset him in the $150,000 Maryland Million Classic in October.

Weather could still intervene, but if all goes to plan, Quint’s Brew will make his long-awaited return to Laurel Park in the $100,000 Bender Memorial Stakes on Saturday. Back against Maryland-breds for the first time since January, the 4-year-old gelding will be the likely favorite coming off a seven-month layoff.

Trainer Ned Allard anticipates rain in the coming days and is still eying an allowance at Aqueduct later this month as a second option. For now, however, he said that he is leaning toward the race at Laurel.