Discreet Lover, winner of the Grade 1 Jockey Gold Cup 11 days ago, worked a half-mile at Parx Racing on Wednesday morning and is expected to be removed from the veterinarian's list when his blood work returns, according to trainer Uriah St. Lewis.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series and earned Discreet Lover a fees-paid berth in the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

ELMONT, N.Y. – After winning four stakes last weekend at Belmont Park, trainer Christophe Clement is hoping to keep the momentum going with major contenders in Saturday’s two turf stakes at Belmont.

Clement will send out Victorine in the $200,000 Pebbles Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and Lull in the $100,000 Floral Park Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs.

If you were looking for clarity in the Breeders’ Cup Mile three weeks out from the race – well, keep on peering into the fog.

In the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile on Oct. 6 at Keeneland the top three betting choices finished fourth, eighth, and 11th. Next Shares, a 23-1 shot, came through a gaping hole along the rail at the top of the stretch and powered home to win by 4 1/2 lengths. “Powered” probably is the wrong word. Over a course rated good, it took Next Shares almost 24.75 seconds to run his final quarter-mile, a relative eternity by top-class turf-mile standards.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Rarely do you see a draw for a 1 1/2-mile turf race as important as the one for Saturday’s $800,000 Canadian International. The inside portion of Woodbine’s 12-furlong course has been unused since Sept. 16, and those two paths should provide smooth footing for the horses who are fortunate enough to race there in the Grade 1 fixture.

City of Light will bring a good deal of upside into the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs – despite the fact that he’s already a multiple Grade 1 winner and millionaire.

“He’s lightly raced, still developing, getting better all the time,” trainer Michael McCarthy said.

Only three trainers have won more Breeders’ Cup races than Bill Mott, whose 10 successes include two victories in the Classic, with Cigar in 1995 and with Drosselmeyer in 2011, the last time the Breeders’ Cup was run at Churchill Downs, host of this year’s event.

As with Drosselmeyer, who was 14-1, Mott will take aim at this year’s Classic on Nov. 3 with a longshot, Yoshida, who is 12-1 on the early line from Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper.

The American cast pointed toward the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs is shaping up short of participants.

U.S.-campaigned horses comprise only five of the 13 leading prospects Daily Racing Form considers possible for the race, and of those, only Sistercharlie, Fourstar Crook, and longshot Mom’s On Strike seem more likely to run than not. The other two, Santa Monica and Vasilika, seem like only outside chances to compete.

Trainers work throughout the summer and fall to find the proper niche for their 2-year-olds. Is an individual suited for sprints or routes – on turf, dirt, or either? The addition of the Juvenile Turf Sprint to the Breeders’ Cup program has provided another outlet to strategize and to maximize a horse’s opportunity.

Personally, these are difficult times for trainer Kathleen O’Connell, whose father died last week at the age of 93.

Professionally, these are good times for O’Connell, who confirmed this week that not only will her talented 2-year-old colt Well Defined run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will ride him. Smith is the all-time winningest jockey in Breeders’ Cup history, with 26 wins and $35.8 million in purse money won.

“I’m trying to look for good news on top of all the bad news I’ve had,” O’Connell said Tuesday.

Arklow, the winner of the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 8, may take an unconventional path to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

Trainer Brad Cox said on Wednesday that he plans to start Arklow in the Grade 3 Sycamore Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 18. The $100,000 Sycamore Stakes is run at 1 1/2 miles on turf, the same distance as the BC Turf.

Cox said there may be sufficient time between the Sycamore and BC Turf for Arklow to start in both races.