ELMONT, N.Y. – Hi Happy, who was scratched from the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic here Sept. 29 due to the soft turf course condition, was entered for Monday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont Park.

Pletcher said he also is keeping an eye on the Grade 1, $800,000 Canadian International next Saturday at Woodbine, but he noted that the long-range forecast in Canada isn’t conducive to having firm ground. The Belmont turf courses have yet to be firm all meet, but with no rain forecast Saturday through Monday, the course could be in decent shape by Monday.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Pavel, who won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs in June, worked five furlongs in 1:02.80 at Santa Anita on Friday in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill on Nov. 3.

Trainer Doug O’Neill said Pavel galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.40.

“The track was slow, and he broke off slow,” O’Neill said.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Cordiality dominated the California-bred stakes for fillies and mares on turf through the spring and summer, winning the Fran’s Valentine Stakes at Santa Anita in May and the Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar in August.

Since those wins were in statebred company, Cordiality is eligible for Sunday’s $70,000 Swingtime Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf. The race is restricted to non-winners of a stakes worth $60,000 at a mile or longer this year, with statebred races excluded.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The turf course was soft, owing to heavy overnight rain, but as far as Robby Albarado was concerned, everything was just right.

“There’s definitely some cut to it,” Albarado said after riding Pico Entry to a hard-earned victory Friday in the first race of the 17-day Keeneland fall meet. “But this horse got over it perfect.”

LEXINGTON, Ky. – One of the longer shots in the Bourbon Stakes here Sunday is Shazier, a colt named for Ryan Shazier, the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker who suffered a serious spinal injury in a game last December. Joe Bravo, who will ride the Cairo Prince colt for trainer Carlo Vaccarezza, will wear silks sporting the Steelers logo.

MIAMI – After being used heavily for the past 10 months with as many as five or six races carded daily on the grass, the Gulfstream Park turf course is undergoing extensive renovations that began immediately after the spring-summer session ended last Sunday.

Large sections of the course have already been ripped out, with the much-needed project scheduled to be completed by the time the 2018-19 championship meet opens Dec. 1.

X Y Jet was back on the work tab and back in consideration for the Breeders' Cup Sprint after working five furlongs in 58 seconds Thursday morning at Monmouth Park, according to trainer Jorge Navarro. Navarro moved the drill up two days after having originally scheduled the work for Saturday. 

"He was supposed to go an easy half, instead he went 21, 33, 45, 58, and galloped out in 1:11 then came back to the barn like nothing happened," said Navarro. "He's still day to day, and we'll let him tell us if he can make the Sprint, but right now I think we can pull it off."

MIAMI – With the grandstand at Gulfstream Park West long gone, finding a suitable spot to observe races live during the meet can be tricky, which is why trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. chose to watch his very promising 3-year-old Apostle compete in Wednesday’s opening-day feature from the backstretch near the 3 1/2-furlong pole, a vantage point that can be a bit deceptive as the race unfolds.

Ride a Comet has lost just once in five starts on turf. That defeat came to Raging Bull in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga in August.

Saturday, Ride a Comet will get another shot at Raging Bull in the Grade 2, $500,000 Hill Prince Stakes for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park.

After losing to Raging Bull, Ride a Comet was sent west by trainer Mark Casse where Ride a Comet won the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 2.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Pure Sensation won the inaugural Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational in 2016. Stablemate Disco Partner won the second running last year.

Saturday, both horses are part of an eight-horse field entered for the third running of the $150,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational at six furlongs. The Belmont Turf Sprint is a stepping-stone to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.