HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Brian Lynch has gotten off to a quick start during the Gulfstream Park Championship meet with three wins from his first eight starters, including Skyro in an overnight handicap on the Tapeta course here last weekend. He hopes the trend will continue when he sends out F Five against defending champion Value Engineering in Saturday’s $100,000 H. Allen Jerkens Handicap.

The $200,000 Tinsel on Saturday at Oaklawn Park could be a breakthrough race for Speed Bias.

He has a good chance to secure his first stakes win after finishing third by a neck in the Grade 2 Fayette in October at Keeneland and second by a nose in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special in May.

“He’s been close a couple of times already,” said Ron Moquett, who trains Speed Bias. “I think it’s definitely on the horizon for him.”

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Off a fifth-place finish in a sprint stakes, Competitive Touch tries 1 1/16 miles in the co-featured allowance/optional claimer for 2-year-olds on the final Saturday of the Woodbine meet.

Competitive Touch has raced up front in all four of his outings. He faded to finish a distant fourth when debuting Sept. 10 and then narrowly lost a longer 6 1/2-furlong maiden special Oct. 15. He won a six-furlong maiden special convincingly Nov. 12, and was softened up in a speed duel most recently in the restricted Clarendon Stakes.

There are reasons to believe West Omaha could develop into a runner of note. She will be tested for class Friday night when she makes her stakes debut in the $75,000 Trapeze at Remington Park.

“Hopefully, she takes the next step,” said trainer Brad Cox.

The Trapeze is a one-mile race for 2-year-old fillies that shares a card with five other stakes. The program is led by the $300,000 Springboard Mile, which carries eligibility points for the Kentucky Derby.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Cowan appears to have found some class relief in Friday’s feature at Aqueduct, returning to the same multi-conditioned allowance race he won here two months ago.

Though Cowan won a $105,000 allowance by a head over Durante on Oct. 14, the fact that NYRA only pays its winners 55 percent of the purse – whereas many jurisdictions pay 60 percent – makes him eligible for this race under the “has not won $60,000” in a single race condition. The purse for this race is $95,000.

Whelen Springs is arguably the top Arkansas-bred in training at Oaklawn Park. On Friday, he will launch his local campaign in a conditioned allowance that drew fellow graded stakes winners Silver Prospector and Double Crown.

The 1 1/16-mile feature goes as the ninth race of 10, and the purse is $142,000. The field of 11 includes stakes winners Buck Moon, Hozier, Full Screen, and Frosted Departure. Commandperformance will bring the best last-race Beyer Speed Figure to the table, a 95 earned for a two-other-than allowance win at Churchill Downs.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A bevy of potentially up-and-coming young stars are scattered among the three allowance races on Friday’s excellent 10-race program at Gulfstream Park, although they may find themselves dealing with the consequences of a forecast calling for the potential of steady rain showers throughout the day.

Desert Dawn, a graded stakes-winning filly in 2022, will be favored to end a 10-race losing streak in Friday’s Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes at Los Alamitos.

Her most recent loss, a fifth-place finish by 1 1/4 lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita, stings trainer Phil D’Amato.

Dismissed at 43-1, Desert Dawn rallied wide to reach contention, only to race in tight quarters between rivals at a pivotal point in the stretch.

Kentucky Derby points will be up for grabs Friday night at Remington Park, where the undefeated Glengarry battles possible favorite Otto the Conqueror, the promising Gettysburg Address, Southern California shipper Raging Torrent, and local stakes winner Magic Grant in the $300,000 Springboard Mile.

The first five finishers in the race for 2-year-olds will earn points for the 2024 Kentucky Derby on a scale of 10-5-3-2-1.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – There are a host of classy old geldings in the sixth race on the final Friday of the Woodbine meet, including stakes winner Cupid’s Claws, who should go off favored in the 1 1/8-mile starter/optional claimer.

An 8-year-old trained by Mark Casse, Cupid’s Claws earned his 15 minutes of fame when taking the Grade 3 Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita in 2020. The Tokyo City was his last win, but he also finished second in another 1 1/2-mile dirt stakes in Southern California, the Grade 3 Cougar II at Del Mar in 2021.