As he works his way out of a rough patch, Virginia-bred Gigante will return home as a heavy favorite in the $125,000 Find Stakes at Colonial Downs on Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile race will be trainer Steve Asmussen’s first stakes at the track since 2023, when Gigante completed a three-start stint that included a victory in the Grade 2 Secretariat.

“We’re excited to get him back to Colonial,” Asmussen said. “His Secretariat win was very exciting and the best win of his career. He’s been a wonderful horse for us, and I’m hoping that this is the right spot to get him back to winning.”

DEL MAR, Calif. – Having cemented her role as the top 3-year-old turf filly in California by bagging her third stakes last out, Thought Process faces fresh challengers Saturday at Del Mar.

Bring ’em on.

The Del Mar Oaks will be the fourth leg of the pick six sequence that has a $79,373 carryover.

An eclectic field entered the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, a 1 1/8-mile race recently kind to chalk. Favorites have won the Oaks four of the last six years.

Thought Process will try to extend the trend despite drawing post 10.

Trainer Tim McCanna’s family has deep roots in the Spokane, Wash., area. So when it came time to assign a moniker to a now-4-year-old gelding whom McCanna partially owned, he decided to name him after a Jesuit brother who worked at Gonzaga Prep High School.

“He was like every freshman’s best friend,” McCanna said of Brother O’Brien.

When he filed the paperwork establishing the horse’s name, McCanna accidentally spelled O’Brien with a small “o” and shipped him to California, where he went 5 for 17 over the course of two years that saw very little in the way of time off.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Off an 11-month layoff, a razor-sharp Cruden Bay won the Grade 2 Connaught Cup for the second year in a row at Woodbine on July 20. The stretch-runner will stretch from seven furlongs to a mile in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 King Edward, a pivotal prep for next month’s Grade 1 Woodbine Mile.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Two Out Hero, who hit it out of the park when debuting on the Tapeta, will take his talents to the turf in Saturday’s $150,000 Soaring Free, one of two 6 1/2-furlong turf stakes for 2-year-olds on the King’s Plate undercard, along with the $150,000 Catch a Glimpse for fillies.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Saratoga-based She Feels Pretty returns to the scene of her first Grade 1 victory on Saturday to contest the $750,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes on the King’s Plate undercard at Woodbine. The 1 1/4-mile main turf event is a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In qualifier for the Filly and Mare Turf, and She Feels Pretty should be odds-on in the compact but quality field of seven.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Fillies have been like money in the bank in Canada’s most prestigious race, the King’s Plate. Woodbine Oaks winner No Time will try to become the second straight female King’s Plate winner while favored in the 166th running of the $1 million event for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds on Saturday.

Trained by Mark Casse for owner Gary Barber, No Time earned a big 88 Beyer Speed Figure when taking the July 20 Woodbine Oaks over stablemates Shifty and Winterberry. That duo returned to fill out the exacta in the Bison City Stakes.

Myra’s Boy has won both of his starts at the Louisiana Downs meet and the Beyer Speed Figures he has earned are the top two numbers at the current stand in Bossier City, La.

Myra’s Boy earned a meet-best 91 when taking an off-the-turf race for first-level allowance runners May 27. It was held at one mile and 70 yards. He returned to earn an 88 for a win in a one-mile turf allowance in his last start July 29. The next stop could be a stakes race.

Emmanuel, a five-time graded stakes winner trained by Michael Maker, will be an overwhelming favorite in the $150,000 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup Stakes at Penn National on Friday. The 6-year-old is still looking for his first victory this year, but Maker seems to have found an ideal spot for his seasoned veteran.

“Looks like a good spot,” Maker said. “Finally get a win since we purchased him last year.”