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.

MIAMI – It might have been only career win No. 100, pretty ordinary stuff as milestones go these days, but it still was a special moment for trainer Carlo Vaccarezza when Micah’s Girl crossed the finish line first to earn his diploma in Monday’s sixth race at Gulfstream Park West.

“I know it’s only 100, but I’ve been doing this less than four years, so it meant a lot to me,” Vaccarezza said. “I don’t have the big guns a lot of these other trainers do. I basically started with my own horses and a modest stable, so for me, I think getting to 100 is a pretty good accomplishment.”

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trainer Dale Romans began this week just nine shy of the 2,000-win mark and is on pace to achieve the milestone during the upcoming fall meet at Churchill, his home track.

Romans, 52, is the all-time leading trainer at Churchill with more than 700 wins. His other achievements include the 2012 Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer, as well as victories in the 2011 Preakness with Shackleford and the 2005 Dubai World Cup with Roses In May.

Senior status for Day

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.