Oscar Performance didn’t finish the Arlington Million, pulled up in the homestretch after jockey Jose Ortiz felt the colt take a couple of awkward steps. That was Aug. 11. On Sept. 15, Oscar Performance won the Woodbine Mile, running his second half-mile in less than 45 seconds and stamping himself as a serious player in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

ARCADIA, Calif. – A majority interest in the 3-year-old colt Axelrod, a two-time Grade 3 winner who most recently was second in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby, has been sold to Phoenix Thoroughbreds by original owner Slam Dunk Racing, which will retain a minority interest in the colt, according to Nick Cosato, who heads the Slam Dunk partnership.

Axelrod won the Indiana Derby and Smarty Jones, both Grade 3 races, prior to the Pennsylvania Derby. He also was second in the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes in June. He is based at Santa Anita with trainer Michael McCarthy.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Fashion Business will miss the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3 after being diagnosed with an injury over the weekend that will keep him out of training until early 2019, trainer Phil D’Amato said.

D’Amato declined to reveal the injury, but described the setback as a “minor issue.”

“We’ll focus on having him in full form at the beginning of the year,” D’Amato said. “His chances of coming back are very good.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – Accelerate and West Coast both emerged from the Awesome Again Stakes on Saturday in good condition, and they will be on similar schedules over the next month, with both expected to have three works at Santa Anita prior to shipping to Churchill Downs the week of the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Classic, their trainers said Sunday morning.

John Sadler, per usual the day after a race, had Accelerate jog for him outside his stable on Sunday morning.

Fine Needle won his second Grade 1 sprint in Japan this year in Sunday’s $1,891,011 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse and is expected to have his next start in Kentucky or Hong Kong later this fall.

Fine Needle, owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing, earned a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3. Fine Needle is also a candidate for the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin in December, Godolphin officials said after the race.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Discreet Lover, the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner, was placed on the veterinarian’s list by the New York Racing Association, meaning he must undergo further evaluation and pass certain simple protocols before he is permitted to race again.

Uriah St. Lewis, the owner and trainer of Discreet Lover, said he is not concerned by this development and does plan on running Discreet Lover in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3 provided the horse is doing well.

The last three critical preps for the Breeders’ Cup Classic were run on a very busy Saturday of stakes action, and two of the three were won by heavy favorites. But if you thought that helped bring the Classic picture into sharp focus, you might want to think again.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Vasilika made a compelling argument for a $100,000 nomination to the Breeders’ Cup program with her seventh consecutive win in Saturday’s Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita.

Vasilika earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf with her win in the $301,035 Rodeo Drive, but the position is available only to horses nominated to the Breeders’ Cup. Vasilika is expected to be made eligible in October, trainer and co-owner Jerry Hollendorfer said.

“I think we’ll consider that strongly,” he said. “It’s kind of a no-brainer.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Bob Baffert dearly wanted to win the American Pharoah on Saturday at Santa Anita, and he got the money with his colt Game Winner, who remained unbeaten and earned a berth five weeks hence in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

But the result was more significant owing to who was leading Game Winner into the winner’s circle.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The multiple Grade 1 winner Elate will miss the Breeders’ Cup due to a splint-bone issue in her right foreleg that has been slow to heal, trainer Bill Mott said Saturday morning.

Elate, second to Abel Tasman in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga on Aug. 25, was being considered for either the Classic or the Distaff.

Also, Hofburg, fourth in the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 22, will not be considered for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Mott said. He could be considered for the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill in late November.