LEXINGTON, Ky. - The classics are over, and the tedious heat of summer is settling on the sport. But don't switch over to the Golf Channel, because Sky Mesa, the secret weapon of the 3-year-old crop of 2003, is about to be unleashed.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A $270,000 Cherokee Run filly bought by Arosa Farms was the top seller at the two-day Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June auction of juveniles and horses of racing age. The auction concluded Wednesday with a slight gain in gross and slight declines in average and median prices.

A $270,000 Cherokee Run filly proved to be the bright spot at Tuesday's opening session for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June sale of 2-year-olds and horses of racing age in Florida. After an opening day that saw declines across the board, selling continued at the final session Wednesday, where the session leader at 5 p.m. was a $150,000 Runaway Groom-Tippecanoe Creek colt from Paul Sharp, agent. Buzz Chace, agent, bought the colt, a half-brother to Hutcheson Stakes winner Lion Tamer.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Multiple Grade 1 winner Lido Palace, who was reitred in early May, will enter stud in 2004 at Lambholm South in Reddick, Fla. The 6-year-old Chilean-bred horse will stand his initial season for $8,500.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - It may be time for trainer John Sadler to open a wing at his Hollywood Park stable just for the foals of Beverly Z.

Last week, when High Z, a 2-year-old, arrived from Galway Downs, Sadler added his fourth foal out of Beverly Z to his stable. All are owned by John Barr's Oakcrest Stable.

The rest of the team is made up of 5-year-old Waingarth, 4-year-old Zee Best, and 3-year-old Madam General.

"This is the first time I've ever had four at the track at the same time by the same mare," Sadler said.

Maryland's 2003 freshman sires, one of the largest such groups in recent memory, have launched their careers quickly. Four first-year stallions have had a winner since May 1, and two rank among the top 20 freshmen sires in the nation.

Leading the earnings list is perhaps the least-known of the group, Rubiyat. A son of champion sprinter Rubiano, Rubiyat has only eight foals in his first crop, but he hit big with his first runner.

Next Sunday's Queen's Plate is the most important race for Canadian-foaled 3-year-olds, and Langfuhr is the sire of the two favorites. His sons Wando and Mobil have dominated the local 3-year-olds in the prep races leading up to the 1 1/4-mile Plate, and one of them figures to win the 144th edition of North America's oldest continuously run race.

The colts, both owned by Langfuhr's owner and breeder, Gus Schickedanz, are from the stallion's second North American crop.

Three prominent commercial stallion farms in New York recently formed an unusual partnership.

Questroyal Stud in New Hampton will relocate its stallion operation 80 miles north to Metropolitan Stud - until recently called Silvernails Farm - in Pine Plains on July 15.

Jim and Lorna Mack, the owners of Metropolitan Stud, have leased their 300-acre farm to Michael Lischin, the owner of nearby Dutchess Views Farm. Lou Salerno and Barry Ostrager, partners in Questroyal Stud, have made arrangements with Lischin to board stallions and mares at Metropolitan.

Clayton O'Quinn, a respected member of Florida's horse community, died this past week at the age of 84. He had been ill for several months.

O'Quinn and his family moved from southeast Texas to Ocala in 1967 after he was offered the job of farm manager for Charlie Verhayden's Grosse Pointe Stud Farm. O'Quinn's experience until that time had been mostly with Quarter Horses.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - On June 6, the Red Ransom filly Casual Look narrowly won the English Oaks from the Sadler's Wells filly Yesterday, and the next day, Kris Kin, a son of Kris S., defied his competition through the stretch at Epsom to claim the Derby.

The winners of both of the 12-furlong English classics at Epsom Downs were sired by sons of the late Darby Dan stallion Roberto, and both were bred with associations to Lane's End Farm.