SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Christophe Clement is trying to decide whether to run Winchester in Saturday’s Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga or give the horse more time and ship him to Southern California for the Grade 2 $200,00 Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 28.

On Monday, Winchester gave his opinion that he’d like to stay home by working a strong five furlongs in 59.89 seconds over the Oklahoma turf course.

“The Sword Dancer is looking pretty good,” Clement said afterward. “I thought he looked very good, it was his first work here on turf.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Seal Cove remained unbeaten on turf and got the first stakes win of his brief career by rallying to take the $78,000 Gleaming Stakes, an overnight race for 3-year-olds, on Monday at Saratoga.

Sent off as the favorite, Seal Cove ($6.50), sixth in the eight-horse field for the first six furlongs, roared down the center of the course to beat Canaveral by 1 3/4 lengths. Eternal Ruler, the early leader, was 2 3/4 lengths farther back in third.

Seal Cove, under jockey Javier Castellano, completed 1 3/16 miles on a course rated yielding in 2:01.75.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Pender Harbour wasn’t quite ready for the question in the Queen’s Plate as he finished third here in that June 26 race at 1 1/4 miles.

But Pender Harbour has done everything asked of him since then, winning the final two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown by a grand total of two noses under rider Luis Contreras.

DEL MAR, Calif. - This fall is likely to be Ultra Blend's final autumn on the racetrack. Owner Nels Erickson and trainer Art Sherman are seriously thinking of breeding the mare in 2012, when she will be 6.

As she gets closer to the expected end of her career, Ultra Blend's status in the older filly and mare division is soaring with each start.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Paso Doble gets some noteworthy class relief for Wednesday’s $125,000 Shepperton Stakes and could dance his way into the winner’s circle after the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for Ontario-sired runners at Woodbine.

Paso Doble was essentially a need-the-lead type before joining trainer Mark Casse’s barn this year and has evolved into an effective stalker/closer.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – While trainer Christophe Clement is hoping for a big day at Arlington on Saturday with stable stars Gio Ponti and Cheetah in Grade 1 stakes races, he has a chance to pick up some pocket change on Wednesday at Saratoga with another long-distance turf specialist, Tarrip, who takes a slight drop in class in the day’s featured race, the $75,000 Signature Stallion Waya.

Saturday’s running of the Jess Jackson Owners’ Handicap at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa was a steward’s worst nightmare.

Ain’t No Other broke like a bullet, immediately going to the lead in the speed-laden race and won convincingly. But he pulled a no-no in the stretch, drifting out badly and obstructing Starboardlights, who ended up third. Although he was first under the wire by 1 3/4 lengths, Ain’t No Other was disqualified and placed third behind Goggles McCoy and Starboardlights.

Give Me Five should be favored when she tries for her third win at the meet in a $20,000 claiming race for 3-year-old fillies that will serve as the feature race at Northlands Park on Wednesday. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew seven horses and goes as race 3 on the 10-race card.

Trained by Jim Meyaard, Give Me Five came from off the pace to win a first-level allowance race going 6 1/2 furlongs over Kennedy’s Halo on July 3 and once again should have an honest pace to work with.

AUBURN, Wash. - Exclusive Diva and Silver Boxcar raced to front-running victories Sunday at Emerald Downs in the meeting’s first open stakes races for 2-year-olds. Exclusive Diva bounded away in the stretch to win the $49,500 Angie C Stakes for fillies by a length, while Silver Boxcar held off a previously undefeated challenger to capture the $45,000 Premio Esmeralda for colts and geldings by a neck.

Our Nautique ($7) scored his second straight turf stakes victory, overcoming a poor start to capture the $56,160 Joseph T. Grace Handicap at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa on Saturday.

Our Nautique got a dream trip going wire to wire to win the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile at Golden Gate Fields on April 30. His trip wasn’t as smooth Sunday, but the result was the same as he defeated favored Bold Chieftain by two lengths while winning the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes in 1:44.10.