City Man and Runaway Rumour will both be looking to pull off title defenses Sunday when they run in the respective $200,000 Mohawk and $200,000 Ticonderoga at Aqueduct.

The turf routes for New York-breds are part of the Empire State Shpowcase program of eight restricted stakes worth a cumulative $1.6 million. The Mohawk, which is for 3-year-olds and up, and the Ticonderoga, which is restricted to fillies and mares, will both be run over 1 1/16 miles.

Aidan O’Brien pared down his Breeders’ Cup team on Friday, withdrawing three pre-entered horses, most notably Paddington, who would have been among the favorites in the BC Mile but instead has been retired to stud.

V V’s Dream has earned her short price in the $200,000 Rags to Riches Stakes and faces only six rivals Saturday at Churchill Downs, but the filly is no slam dunk.

The six other entrants in this 1 1/16-mile dirt race for 2-year-old fillies have some degree of merit. V V’s Dream has accomplished more and is faster so far, but with only a handful of starts between them, the opposition has wide latitude for improvement.

ARCADIA, Calif. – All good, babe.

That was the vibe emanating from trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. after he watched Breeders’ Cup Classic contender White Abarrio work a strong five furlongs in 59.68 seconds Friday morning over Santa Anita’s main track under jockey Emily Ellingwood. Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch caught his final quarter in 23.00 while galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.26 and seven furlongs in 1:28.53.

“He looked good to me and he felt good to her,” Dutrow said. “I think anybody that watched him breeze would say that he looked good to them.”

El Grande O was a memorable winner the last time he ran against New York-breds, and his connections will be hoping for more of the same when he returns to restricted company for the $200,000 Sleepy Hollow on Sunday at Aqueduct.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Locked and Fierceness earned the two highest Beyer Speed Figures for juveniles at the Saratoga meet, a 96 and 95, respectively, for their maiden wins.

Locked went on to win the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland for Todd Pletcher, while stablemate Fierceness finished seventh on a sloppy track in the Grade 1 Champagne.

Both were on the work tab Friday morning at Keeneland for their final serious drills for the BC Juvenile and will ship to Santa Anita this weekend.

There’s plenty of activity at Churchill Downs, with the 21-day fall meet opening Sunday. Management also is keeping an eye to the future.

The plan to start Noble Reflection in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita essentially ended earlier this week when the list of pre-entries was published.

Noble Reflection was ranked 20th on a list of 21 potential runners. Only the first 14 are assured berths in the Turf Sprint.

“I doubt I’ll get in,” trainer George Papaprodromou said Friday morning. “Maybe a miracle will happen.”

Grand Mo the First and Bentornato have emerged as 2-year-olds of significance this season at Gulfstream Park. Both have upcoming stakes engagements.

Grand Mo the First was pre-entered in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita by trainer Victor Barboza Jr. Grand Mo the First was ranked 16th to make it into the 14-horse field but two Friday defections mean he will be allowed to run.

Trane Station V was second in two of the leading races for juveniles at Ruidoso Downs over the summer, including the $3 million All American Futurity on Sept. 4.

In California this fall, Trane Station V is making a strong case for being the top 2-year-old. In his debut at Los Alamitos, Trane Station V won a division of the Golden State Million Futurity trials on Oct. 8 to set the fastest qualifying time for Sunday’s $988,450 final at 400 yards.