Intentional or no, the Hawthorne Gold Cup on Saturday might wind up being a key prep toward the $500,000 Breeders' Cup Marathon. Nite Light, the top-ranked horse in the initial Daily Racing Form ratings for the Marathon, "might run at Hawthorne before we ship him out for the Marathon," said Michael McCarthy, the Kentucky-based assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, while second-rated Awesome Gem is a definite Gold Cup starter for the prominent West Point Thoroughbreds Stable.

Joshua Tree closed strongly in the stretch while bearing inward during his 12-1 victory in last Saturday's Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes, a Win and You're In race at Ascot in England.

After an inquiry, Joshua Tree's number stayed up, and he was quoted at 20-1 by William Hill in the early wagering for next year's Group 1 English Derby.

After the race, trainer Aidan O'Brien was asked about the possibility of Joshua Tree going in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita.

A downhill run from the break, a slight right (the only right turn in North American racing), and a brief crossover onto the main track make this one of the most idiosyncratic turf-sprint layouts in captivity. While the horse-for-course angle can be overblown elsewhere, it applies to the "about" 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita absolutely. Desert Code, last year's inaugural winner at $75, has won 5 of 8 career starts under those conditions heading into Wednesday's Morvich, the opening-day feature at Santa Anita that loomed a key prep for Downhill Racer 2.

In 2008, trainer Bob Baffert won a very competitive Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita with the amazing Midnight Lute, beating a field that included East Coast sprint kingpin Fabulous Strike.

One year later, the scenario leading up to the 2009 Sprint is nearly the same.

This time, Baffert will have the sensational Zensational to take on all comers from the East. That group is currently led, once again, by Fabulous Strike, who finished fifth behind Midnight Lute in the 2008 Sprint.

Mi Sueno, the most accomplished 2-year-old filly on the West Coast, is injured. Hot Dixie Chick, the beast of the East, is on vacation. Thus, the Chicago-based She Be Wild has to be considered the division leader entering the final round of prep races for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 6 at Santa Anita.

The easy way to promote this year's Filly and Mare Sprint is to advertise it as a rematch between the first two finishers in this event last year. But it's also valid. After all, Ventura will be the favorite off her powerful, four-length score from off the pace in the 2008 Filly and Mare Sprint, and off a victory over males last month in the Woodbine Mile that might have been her best performance ever.

Zensational (left) has the advantage of having the Breeders' Cup Sprint in his own backyard. In

contrast, Fabulous Strike must travel cross-country and switch from dirt to a synthetic surface.P

Gozzip Girl needs to run well in the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland on Oct. 17, if for no other reason than to strengthen the hopes of the U.S.-based runners for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 6.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey won the 2004 Eclipse Award as outstanding owners, were North America's leading owners by earnings in 2005, have collected a record 15 owner's titles at Churchill Downs, and this summer were the leading owners at Saratoga for the second straight year.

One of the few things they haven't won - a Breeders' Cup race - is something they aim to change this year.

They're a late-arriving crowd, the probables for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

With limited opportunities to establish stakes form on the grass at the race's one-mile distance, it has been difficult to discern the division's chief players. But the picture could become a lot clearer over the weekend when three stakes will be run that are expected to produce starters for the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 6 at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The results of last year's Breeders' Cup, the first ever run on a synthetic surface, have had a major impact on this year's event, to be held Nov. 6 and 7 here at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting.

No race last year was more significant than the Classic, in which European invaders Raven's Pass and Henrythenavigator finished one-two in the 1 1/4-mile race, with favored Curlin fourth. The success of the Europeans in that race specifically, and in the two-day event generally, has emboldened many of the best horses in Europe to head here again this year.