OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said that Jerome fourth-place finisher Long River and recent maiden winner Valid are both possible for the Withers.

In his first start against winners, Long River raced inside of horses for a good part of the trip, but only showed modest acceleration when he got in the clear in the stretch.

“He ran well for just breaking his maiden,” McLaughlin said. “His best race he was out in the clear; this race he was opposite.”

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Dale Romans said Dullahan is now scheduled to rejoin his stable here later this week. The Blue Grass and Pacific Classic winner had originally been scheduled to return to training just after the first of the year.

“He was coming last week but got a little cut on his leg while out in the field that we had to put three stitches in,” Romans said. “He’ll be down in a few days. It set him back a week maybe.”

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - A field of six or seven older handicap runners is lining up for Saturday’s Grade 3 Hal’s Hope, a group led by the red-hot Csaba and El Padrino.

Trainer Phil Gleaves confirmed Sunday that Csaba, who has cruised to three straight stakes wins including an easy victory here last month in the Harlan’s Holiday, is a definite for the one-mile Hal’s Hope. Csaba tuned up for the assignment by breezing an easy half-mile in 50.40 seconds at Calder on Monday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – After briefly considering shipping eight-time stakes winner Royal Currier to south Florida for the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Sprint – a race in which he finished third last year – his connections opted for a more conservative route. Thus, Royal Currier will make his 5-year-old debut in Wednesday’s $75,000 True and Blue Stakes at Aqueduct.

OLDSMAR, Fla. – It was almost preordained that Jason DaCosta would become a horse trainer. After all, DaCostas’s father, Wayne DaCosta, is a 10-time leading trainer in Jamaica, a member of the Jamaican Racing Hall of Fame, and has saddled more than 1,600 winners.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Nick Zito picked up three more victories over the weekend and may have found himself a potential Kentucky Derby contender or two in the process.

Eton Blue rallied from just off the pace to a half-length victory over stablemate Dyker Beach to win his maiden at second asking in the second division of a one-mile maiden special weight race for 3-year-olds Saturday. Zito came back the following afternoon to capture two more races, with Tuvia’s Force and Tiz Yankee.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A pair of recent maiden winners, Tapicat and Dancing for Glory, along with the graded-stakes-tested Fly Again top a field of seven 3-year-old fillies entered to go a mile on the grass in Wednesday’s $54,500 allowance feature at Gulfstream Park.

Tapicat, a $725,000 yearling purchase trained by Bill Mott, won his turf debut going 1 1/16 miles here Dec. 2, while Dancing for Glory followed suit at a mile on the grass 12 days later. Fly Again finished fourth in the Grade 3 Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont in her second start at 2.

ARCADIA, Calif.- Mizdirection closed from 10th in a field of 14 to beat males in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita back in November. She ran an equally thrilling race to win Sunday’s $150,000 Monrovia Stakes.

Of course, there was a vast difference in the purse – the BC Turf Sprint was worth $1 million - but Mizdirection was fully extended to catch a stubborn leader in Kindle to win the Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes, run for fillies and mares over about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course.

Forest Mouse pretty much made his case that he’s the top dog among elders in New Mexico as the 5-year-old son of Teton Forest set a track record capturing Sunday’s $50,000 Winsham Lad Handicap at Sunland Park.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The comeback of Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens in Sunday’s sixth race at Santa Anita nearly resulted in the first win in more than seven years for the famous rider.

Stevens finished third aboard Jebrica after leading in the stretch of the one-mile turf race for $50,000 claimers. Jebrica could not hold the lead and finished a neck and a nose behind Maybe Tuesday ($13).

The mount was the first of Stevens’s comeback, which he announced last Thursday.