SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – If Epicenter wasn’t already a solid favorite for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers, his position became that much stronger Sunday with the news that Charge It, the 23-length winner of the Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes on July 2, will miss the race with a foot injury.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Spendarella ran the best race of her career to win the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on turf by 4 1/2 lengths on Saturday in what could be her second-to-last race of the year.

Trainer Graham Motion said Sunday that Spendarella may start in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, a $600,000 race for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Keeneland on Oct. 15.

“If we did that, that would be it for the year,” Motion said.

The 2022 season has taken Spendarella coast to coast and to England.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Classical Cat, who cost a mere $65,000 as a yearling, beat Hejazi, a $3.55 million buy at a 2-year-olds in-training sale in May, in a maiden special weight race at 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on Saturday.

Classical Cat, owned by Michael House and trained by Phil D’Amato, closed from third of eight to win by 2 1/2 lengths, paying $13.20. Hejazi, trained by Bob Baffert for Amr Zedan, was 2-5.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Justique, the attractive winner of a maiden special weight race for 2-year-old fillies in her debut at Del Mar on July 31, was briefly sidelined with a fever earlier this month that may jeopardize her chances of a start in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 10.

Trainer John Shirreffs said Sunday that Justique has resumed training and is approaching her first workout since the maiden race win.

“She’s about a week behind,” Shirreffs said. “She had a little fever. I’ll go day by day.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Steve Asmussen may have unleashed the most impressive juvenile colt of the Saratoga meeting Saturday when Echo Again cruised to a 6 3/4-length debut victory in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race.

With Ricardo Santana Jr. filling in for an ill Joel Rosario, Echo Again broke sharp, made a 1 1/2-length lead after an opening quarter in 22.39 seconds which he maintained after a half-mile in 45.66. He began to widen around the far turn and continued to draw off while covering 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.89 and getting a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Six prospective starters for next Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes put in workouts on Saturday morning here, but it was one who didn’t make the worktab that drew the most attention.

Charge It, the 23-length winner of the Grade 3 Dwyer on July 2, was expected to work on Saturday at Saratoga. But the horse didn’t work and trainer Todd Pletcher played it close to the vest when discussing the 3-year-old colt. Pletcher said the horse was dealing with something but he wouldn’t elaborate and that he hoped to work the horse on Sunday.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Prank, the ultra-impressive debut-winning 2-year-old filly, will likely be sidelined for the remainder of the year after suffering a hairline fracture of her left front pastern, trainer Todd Pletcher said Saturday.

Prank underwent surgery Friday in Saratoga to repair the injury, getting two screws placed into her left foreleg.

“The surgery went very smoothly, she should come back 100 percent,” Pletcher said.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Flightline was the first horse to work after the initial renovation break on Saturday at Del Mar, and two of his primary challengers in the Pacific Classic drilled moments later during a hectic, exciting start to the day here.

Flightline was brilliant as usual. Going solo under Juan Leyva, trainer John Sadler’s top assistant, Flightline was credited by clockers with a seven-furlong drill in 1:24, going from the five-furlong pole out to the six-furlong pole, and including a 24-second split from the quarter pole to the wire. He continued galloping out strongly.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Tyler Baze was forced to give up his Friday mounts at Del Mar after a pre-race test still had traces of a medication he was temporarily prescribed Monday, a situation that forced him to miss his mounts Thursday, too.

“Very frustrated,” his agent, Jack Carava, said of Baze, who was at the track and fully expecting to ride.

Baze was scheduled to return to action Thursday at Del Mar after taking last week off to attend to “personal matters.” Carava on Thursday said Baze had been temporarily prescribed a medication for high blood pressure.

A pair of sprint stakes with Breeders’ Cup implications are the focus next weekend at Del Mar – the seven-furlong, Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes on Aug. 27, and the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap for fillies and mares on Aug. 28.

Nominations were released this week for the $250,000 Pat O’Brien, a Win and You’re In for the BC Dirt Mile, and $150,000 Rancho Bernardo, a summer prep toward the BC Filly and Mare Sprint. Below are quick looks at Pat O’Brien and Rancho Bernardo nominations.