Oscar Performance ran a field of maidens off their feet on firm Saratoga turf Aug. 20, and in his first start since then, he did the same thing Saturday to seven rivals racing over yielding ground in the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont.

That performance makes him one of the leading contenders for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, but it’s important to realize that three of the top East Coast-based 2-year-old grass horses – Good Samaritan, Made You Look, and Ticonderoga – weren’t even in the Pilgrim.

Chad Brown has spent the better part of the last year shedding his reputation as simply a turf trainer.

Last October, he won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint with Wavell Avenue. This year, he won the Grade 2 Gotham and Grade 2 Gazelle, had two runners in the Kentucky Derby, and one in the Oaks. In the summer, he won the Grade 1 Hopeful and two weeks ago the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby.

California Chrome’s superior performances in dirt routes from Dubai to Santa Anita this year could lead the connections of some of the division’s other top horses to seek the shelter of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile rather than hook a prohibitive favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

However, the decision to do so might not be that simple.

Two contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf emerged last weekend, thousands of miles away and an ocean apart.

First, Avenge punched her ticket by taking last Saturday’s Grade 1 Rodeo Drive, run under the same conditions as the Filly and Mare Turf: 1 1/4 miles on Santa Anita’s lightning-quick turf course. Then, a day later in France, the connections of So Mi Dar expressed interest in running her in the Breeders’ Cup after a close third in the Prix de l’Opera after a somewhat troubled run in which she was boxed in during the early portion of a slow-paced race.

Kentucky-based trainer Wesley Ward is known for sending his horses on audacious international campaigns, his success at the renowned Royal Ascot meeting one of the results. He welcomes the return of the Breeders’ Cup to Santa Anita, where he won a pair of races at the 2014 event.

And yet for all his traveling, Ward feels most at home at Keeneland, where his string is based and where he can see his retired champion Judy the Beauty wandering her field at his adjacent property while he stands in the grandstand watching this year’s Breeders’ Cup hopefuls prepare.

The $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on Saturday at Belmont Park is the final Win and You’re In race toward the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita. Thus, it should help solidify the field and provide immediate clarity on at least one of trainer Kiaran McLaughlin’s two top prospects.

On Wednesday at Santa Anita, California trainer Peter Eurton glanced through the race record of the Irish filly Found and shook his head in amazement.

Eurton focused on Found’s campaign last October, when she made three starts, finishing ninth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris and second in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in England before winning the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on the final day of the month.

A similar campaign is possible after Found won the Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly Racecourse north of Paris last Sunday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tepin has been assigned post 2 as the heavy favorite for the Grade 1 First Lady, one of five graded stakes set for a blockbuster Saturday card at Keeneland.

With Julien Leparoux riding for trainer Mark Casse, Tepin will be making her final start before trying for a repeat victory in the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita. The 5-year-old Tepin is unbeaten in six starts in three countries this year.

Daddys Lil Darling earned a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with a victory in the Grade 2 Pocahontas at Churchill Downs on Sept. 17, providing trainer Kenny McPeek with the option of standing pat.

Instead, McPeek is raising the stakes, bringing Daddys Lil Darling back Friday on opening day at Keeneland in the $500,000 Alcibiades, believing she has done well enough since her last start to win the Grade 1 race.

California Chrome, the easy winner of the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes last Saturday, returned to the racetrack for a one-mile jog at Los Alamitos on Wednesday.

“With three days off, he was fired up a little bit,” trainer Art Sherman said.

The 2014 Horse of the Year, California Chrome is the future-book favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Classic here on Nov. 5. Sherman said he intends to take it easy with California Chrome.