ARCADIA, Calif. – Egg Drop is wheeling back too soon, only 17 days.

She is moving up in class too swiftly, from first-level allowance to stakes. And the pace scenario of the $70,000 Santa Lucia Stakes might not favor her up-front style.

What does a bettor do with Egg Drop on Sunday at Santa Anita – throw her out? That might not be a good idea.

Five fillies and mares entered the 1 1/16-mile Santa Lucia, and though trainer Mike Mitchell recognizes the challenges, he is confident his filly is up to the task.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Keeneland racing officials are expecting yet another big field for one of their spring marquee races, the Coolmore Lexington Stakes, a Polytrack race that will help close the prep season for the May 4 Kentucky Derby by offering last-gasp “wild card” points toward eligibility.

Pure Fun, a Grade 1-winning filly seeking a spot in the Kentucky Oaks, is foremost among the possible starters for the Grade 3, $200,000 Lexington, a 1 1/16-mile race set for next Saturday, April 20.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – It seems inconceivable that Troy Taylor won’t be the leading trainer at Hastings this year. After all, the 81-year-old Taylor has been the leading trainer here for the past six years, and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Taylor, however, thinks he might not have the bullets this year.

“I have a solid group of stakes horses, but I might not have enough cheap horses to get enough wins,” Taylor said.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – With plenty of speed lined up, Prohibiting might be able to pick up the pieces in a first-level allowance race that will serve as Sunday’s feature at Hastings. The six-furlong dash for 3-year-olds drew six horses and goes as the seventh race.

Prohibiting ran four times as a 2-year-old, and he rallied to win a key race in his third start in a $40,000 optional maiden claiming race. Proud Victor, who finished third, went on to win the $50,000 B.C. Nursery and the $100,00 Jack Diamond Futurity.

Triumph and Song didn’t literally run himself out of Texas in winning the Premiere Stakes on Thursday night at Lone Star, but he did earn himself a van trip up to Kentucky.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Al Stall Jr. believed post 14 would prove a major disadvantage for Magical Moon in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes last weekend at Keeneland, so the filly was scratched to wait instead for the Grade 2 Beaumont Stakes.

“I was a little leery of the distance anyway,” said Stall of the Ashland’s 1 1/16 miles. “She’s probably better suited to just one turn.”

The betting public wagered on Lone Star’s opening-night first race, the $50,000 Premiere Stakes, as if Triumph and Song couldn’t lose.

The way it unfolded, Triumph and Song, the 1-5 favorite, essentially couldn’t. Already a standout on form, he took control from the start, and with jockey Jamie Theriot nursing him on the lead with easy splits of 23.05 seconds and 46.06 in the 6 1/2-furlong test, the race was decided early.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Vuitton caught 8-5 favorite Beat the Blues on the wire in the $100,000 Carousel at Oaklawn on Thursday in one of five wins on the card for her rider, Ricardo Santana Jr. Of the jockey's wins, four came for Vuitton's trainer, Steve Asmussen.   

The Carousel, a six-furlong race for fillies and mares, continued the Racing Festival of the South, a weeklong run of $2.9 million in stakes that closes out the meet at Oaklawn. The series continues on Friday with the Grade 1, $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap and the $75,000 Instant Racing.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Justin Phillip comes into Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Park in the right mindset – with his confidence soaring. That is precisely what his connections wanted to achieve last month, when the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Sprint alumnus made a rare start in the allowance ranks. Justin Phillip was a sweeping, four-length winner in an ideal prep for the Count Fleet.

“He got a win, and that’s what we were hoping for. That’s what he needed,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Justin Phillip for Zayat Stables.

Especially Tres was not the fastest qualifier for Saturday night’s $452,800 Sam Houston Futurity for Quarter Horses, but she was the most impressive trial winner. She dominated by 2 3/4 lengths and the effort could send her to post as the favorite for the 330-yard race that highlights the meet at Sam Houston Race Park.