Smack Smack, who won the Grade 3, $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap on July 2, came out of his 16-1 upset win in good shape and will be pointed to the $175,000 Downs at Albuquerque Handicap on Aug. 6, trainer Don Von Hemel said.

The race at Albuquerque is attractive, Von Hemel said, because it’s contested at 1 1/8 miles, the distance of the Cornhusker and a trip at which Smack Smack is 3 for 4.

Cherry Wine, the Preakness Stakes runner-up, and Cupid, who won the Rebel Stakes so impressively in March, head the list of prospective starters for the Grade 2, $500,000 Indiana Derby, the most important race of the season at Indiana Grand.

The Derby tops a six-stakes card next Saturday, with entries taken Wednesday. Also on that program is the Grade 2, $200,000 Indiana Oaks.

Wickedizaswickeduz will appreciate the class relief when she runs in a $15,000 claiming race that will serve as the featured race at Emerald Downs on Sunday. The six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares appears to be a wide-open event, and a case could be made for or against most of the eight horses entered. It goes as race 7 on a 10-race card that begins at 2 p.m. Pacific.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Creator is being pointed to the Jim Dandy Stakes on July 30 after bouncing out of his Belmont Stakes victory in excellent fashion, trainer Steve Asmussen said this week before leaving Louisville for Saratoga.

Elliott Walden, president of WinStar Farm, confirmed the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy at Saratoga as the next target for Creator, the gray colt who was up in the final strides to win the Belmont on June 11.

Little Mike, the multiple Grade 1 winner who has gone unraced for more than two years, is scheduled to make his comeback Sunday in a $44,000, classified allowance at 1 1/16 miles on turf. The race was originally in the condition book for Saturday.

Bred, owned, and trained by Carlo Vaccarezza, Little Mike has had nine recorded workouts at Palm Meadows since early April. The 9-year-old Little Mike has earned $3.54 million, much of that coming from victories in the Breeders’ Cup Turf and Arlington Million in 2012.

Chuck Simon liked his year-round arrangement at Gulfstream Park – and that was even before he won back-to-back stakes last weekend at the south Florida track.

“It’s getting better all the time,” Simon said with a laugh.

Yes, winning makes it all more fun. As trainer and co-owner, Simon won the $75,000 Miesque’s Approval last Saturday with Aire Bueno, then came right back Sunday to upset the $75,000 Barely Even with 19-1 shot Killer Bird. Both horses were ridden by Matthew Rispoli.

Last Dragoness will attempt to build on a smart debut win Saturday when she makes her first start against Colorado-breds in the $40,000 CTBA Lassie at Arapahoe Park.

The Lassie, at six furlongs, is restricted to 2-year-old fillies bred in Colorado.

Last Dragoness is part of a 10-horse field that includes her fellow last-out maiden winners Emma’s Dilemma, Snicker Jo, and Starry Starry Skys.

CTBA Lassie (Race 8)

KEY CONTENDERS

Last Dragoness, by Smoke Buster

Last Beyer: 19

ELMONT, N.Y. – Following on the heels of an expected appearance by Songbird in the Coaching Club American Oaks and then the Alabama Stakes, another female superstar may run at Saratoga – and she may run earlier than expected.

Tepin, a winner of seven consecutive races, including a victory in the Group 1 Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, could make her next start against males in the Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave on Aug. 13.

Gabriel Charles, the Grade 1 winner who was plagued by a variety of ailments in a career spanning nearly four years, has been retired because of a tendon injury, trainer Jeff Mullins said on Thursday.

Gabriel Charles is a candidate for stallion duty, though no plans have been finalized, Mullins said.

Owned by Michael House and Sam Britt, Gabriel Charles won 4 of 12 starts and earned $604,400. He won three stakes, most notably the Grade 1 Eddie Read at Del Mar last July.

ARCADIA, Calif. – More than a year after he played a supporting role in the Triple Crown, Firing Line is ready for his 2016 debut in a second-level optional $62,500 claimer at Santa Anita on Saturday. Owner Arnold Zetcher and trainer Simon Callaghan are hopeful that the one-mile race will propel Firing Line into the nation’s leading races in the second half of the year.