All things being equal, Exhi might deserve to be favored Saturday in the 41st running of the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Racetrack in Chester, W.Va. After all, he has won his last four races, all stakes, for trainer Todd Pletcher.

However, it’s difficult not to notice that the streak came entirely on synthetic surfaces. But Pletcher maintains that before and after the latest win, the June 27 Victoria Park at Woodbine, Exhi trained exceptionally on the dirt surfaces of Saratoga.

“He’s been training very well on dirt,” Pletcher said this week from Saratoga.

Little Drama will try to follow in his older brother Big Drama’s footsteps when he goes postward as the heavy favorite to win Saturday’s $100,000 Dr. Fager Stakes, the first leg of the open division of Calder’s traditional Florida Stallion Stakes series. The Dr. Fager shares top billing on the card with its filly counterpart, the $100,000 Desert Vixen for 2-year-old fillies.

Although trainer Cliff Delima feels confident about Perfect Curl’s chances to repeat her Juan Gonzalez Memorial Stakes victory in Saturday’s $50,000 Wine Country Debutante at the Sonoma County Fair, he’s taking no chances.

Normally based at Pleasanton, Delima brought Perfect Curls to the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, Calif., along with stablemate Tiz Blushing, and has worked both 2-year-old fillies over the track.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Toni Cloutier has a strong one-two punch with Meux Power and Kwik in Saturday’s feature race at Hastings. The $35,000 optional race for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles drew seven horses and goes as race 7.

Everything is just how Terrel Gore wants it. Not only is his stable star, Shadowbdancing, coming off a terrific last-out win in the Grade 2 Cornhusker Handicap, but the 5-year-old horse also will be returning to the scene of one of his career-best performances when he races Saturday as the defending champion in the $125,000 West Virginia Governor’s Handicap at Mountaineer Racetrack.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - After giving up the lead on the turn, Grazettes Landing battled back in the stretch to take the $126,200 Shepperton Stakes on Wednesday night at Woodbine.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Bench Points remained unbeaten after two starts with a sharp rally through the stretch of Wednesday’s $100,000 Graduation Stakes at Del Mar.

Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Bench Points closed from seventh in a field of 10 while saving ground throughout to outfinish Joy Boy by 2 3/4 lengths. Blingboy finished third, with 2-1 favorite Stormin Rae sixth.

Bench Points ($6.60) ran 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.79. Bejarano kept Bench Points on the rail until midstretch when he rallied between Joy Boy and Blingboy

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Javier Castellano continued his torrid Saratoga summer while the Canadian-based trainer Roger Attfield continued his successful invasion of the New York turf stakes program Wednesday at Saratoga.

Despite having to go six wide in the stretch, Castellano guided Miss Keller to a one-length victory over Keertana in the $70,000 De La Rose Stakes. It was three lengths back to Dreamt in third.

Wasted Tears will leave her Retama Park base Friday for Del Mar, where she will run in the Grade 2, $250,000 John C. Mabee Stakes on Aug. 15, said her trainer, Bart Evans. Wasted Tears will be seeking her seventh straight win, with her most recent score coming May 31 in the Grade 3, $200,000 Ouija Board Distaff at Lone Star Park.

Nelson Desouza, who won his first race at Hoosier Park last Sunday, took the long way to get to Indiana racing.
Desouza, 28, had a cousin who was a jockey in his native Brazil.
“My cousin was a very good jockey and I have a similar build, “ Desouza said. “I knew my weight wouldn’t be a problem so I decided to give it a try.”
After attending the jockey school in Brazil, where he met current Hoosier rider Leandro Goncalves, Desouza had immediate success.