AUBURN, Wash. – Jebrica was a hot horse going into the Grade 3 Longacres Mile on Aug. 19 at Emerald Downs, but the combination of an outside post position, a sluggish start and a wide trip relegated the 2011 Emerald Derby champion to an eighth-place finish. Jebrica came out of the race in good order and will get a chance to get back into the win column in what should be a much easier test, the $40,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic on Sept. 9.

Mildly Offensive, making her first start since being transferred to trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn earlier this summer, withstood a torrid pace duel and a late try from Kid Kate to post a well-deserved half-length victory in Friday’s $100,000 Big Bambu Stakes at Saratoga.

Dancinginherdreams rallied belatedly to finish third.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher suffered the first significant setback among his 2-year-old army when Palace Malice sustained bucked shins, which will cause him to miss the major races in the fall.

After trainer Vladimir Cerin won the CTT and TOC Handicap with Let’s Go Cheyenne on Aug. 24, he said he had one more objective before the end of the meeting – win Sunday’s $85,000 Adoration Stakes with Briecat.

“If she wins, that would make my meet,” Cerin said at the time. “I really like that mare.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – While Stonestreet Stable would seem to hold a strong hand in Sunday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway regardless of whether it runs Teen Pauline, Dreaming of Julia, or both, there are others to consider in the seven-furlong race who should offer greater value.

Graded stakes winners Teeth of the Dog and Prospective head a field of nine 3-year-olds who were entered Thursday for Monday’s $350,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing.

The Grade 3 Smarty Jones, to be contested at a mile and 70 yards, is the local prep for the Grade 2, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 22. The Smarty Jones tops a Labor Day stakes tripleheader that includes the Grade 3, $350,000 Turf Monster Handicap – a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint – and the $200,000 Turf Amazon Handicap for fillies and mares.

In the aftermath of Ochoa’s win in the All American Futurity last September, his connections made a deliberate decision. He would forgo racing the rest of the season in order to be at his best for the rich 3-year-old offerings at Ruidoso Downs.

Mission accomplished.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Potesta delivered one of the grittiest stakes wins of the Betfair Hollywood Park meeting earlier this year in the Grade 2 Hollywood Oaks on June 23. She outfinished Grade 1 winner Eden’s Moon by a nose in 1 1/16-mile race.

After the Hollywood Oaks, trainer Mike Mitchell could have sent Potesta to other circuits for stakes for 3-year-old fillies or tried older fillies and mares in Southern California. He opted to briefly rest Potesta and point to Sunday’s $100,000 Torrey Pines Stakes for 3-year-old fillies over a mile at Del Mar.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The inaugural running of the $100,000 Oak Tree Juvenile Turf at Del Mar on Wednesday comes at the perfect time for owners Sam Britt and Michael House and trainer Jeff Mullins.

This year at Del Mar, they have won maiden races with the highly promising juveniles Dry Summer and Gabriel Charles. In past years, both would likely have started in Wednesday’s $300,000 Del Mar Futurity. This year, they are being split up. Dry Summer is bound for the Oak Tree Juvenile Turf, which is run over a mile.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Monmouth Park showcases its premier 2-year-old stakes Sunday, the Grade 3 Sapling and the Sorority for fillies. Both six-furlong races, each worth $100,000, attracted interesting fields.

Todd Pletcher, blessed with a barn full of babies, will be a major player in both stakes. He has an uncoupled trio of Overanalyze, Drum Roll, and Lawn Man in the 10-horse Sapling. The Pletcher influence also extends to Coach A.J., a colt was claimed away by trainer Patricia Farro for $50,000 out of maiden win at Saratoga.