LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s not that European fillies haven’t given the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup a try. Oh, they have. It’s just that they’ve only won twice in the 34-year history of the Grade 1 turf race at Keeneland.

Wow Cat scored a breakthrough 3 3/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Beldame Stakes last Saturday at Belmont Park. With that automatic qualifier in her pocket, the Chilean champion is poised to add some intrigue to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff as she heads to Kentucky by way of New York.

“It’s taken some time to acclimatize,” said Peter Brant, who owns Wow Cat with Stud Vendaval. “She’s been here six months, and we’ve found that’s when they usually start doing better.”

Promises Fulfilled earned his free berth into the Breeders’ Cup the hard way last Friday at Keeneland, with a gutsy head decision over Whitmore in the Grade 2 Phoenix. Which Breeders’ Cup race he runs in, however, is a decision trainer Dale Romans and owner Robert Baron may not make for several weeks.

Kentucky-based trainer Ken McPeek acknowledges that his 8 percent win rate with first-time starters is not great.

“I don’t make it a huge priority,” McPeek said. “I tend to progress horses along. I like to see them improve race to race.”

So, when a McPeek 2-year-old did the unexpected and won her debut by nearly three lengths this past spring at Churchill Downs, there was a chance she was special. Four months and four starts later, Restless Rider has emerged as a leading contender for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Results of the two final prep races and another round of serious workouts have brought greater clarity to what the field will look like when the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint is run Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.

Golden Mischief became a serious player by winning the Thoroughbred Club of America on Saturday at Keeneland, while the connections of Skye Diamonds are still mulling whether to pre-enter the California-bred standout after she captured the L.A. Woman on Sunday at Santa Anita.

Apprentice rider Johan Rosado and his father, Roberto, won five of the nine races Tuesday at Parx Racing.

Johan concluded the day by winning the nightcap aboard Tizzy Dancer ($6.40) for trainer Kate DeMasi.

Johan, a five-pound apprentice, won races 1, 6, and 9. His first two wins came on Kelly's Silver ($3.40) and Movie Score ($17), who are trained by DeMasi and Scott Lake.

Roberto Rosado won races 2 and 5 on Marq One ($8.20) and Butch Cassidy ($22.80), who are conditioned by Michael Pino and Diane Day.

In arguably the most unpredictable division in racing, the leading contenders for the 5 1/2-furlong Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs have been remarkably consistent in their final prep races.

Last Saturday, favorites won both the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational and the Woodford at Keeneland. A week earlier, the top two betting choices in the Eddie D at Santa Anita finished first and second, separated by a head.

Todd Pletcher will take two swings at a second win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs.

Churchill was the site of Pletcher’s only previous success in the race, with Pluck in 2010, and this year Pletcher has Opry and Current for the one-mile race around Churchill’s tight grass course.

Last Saturday evening, Lily’s Candle was purchased for approximately $448,500 by Martin Schwartz at the Arqana Arc sale in Paris. By early Sunday afternoon, Lily’s Candle was a Group 1 stakes winner with a free ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs.

“This is my favorite time of the year,” Schwartz wrote in a text message Sunday.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Martin Garcia remains sidelined from the effects of a fall during training hours in late September and does not have a definitive comeback date.

Thom Mitchell, Garcia’s agent, said earlier this week that Garcia hopes to return to riding soon.

“There is no change to speak of,” Mitchell said.

Garcia, 33, has won 26 races from 214 mounts this year. Earlier this decade, when closely allied with trainer Bob Baffert, Garcia won the 2010 Preakness Stakes on Lookin At Lucky and the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic on Bayern.