ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Ice Bear, coming off a third-place finish in the Grade 2 King Edward, will be dropping in class here Sunday for the $100,000 Ontario Jockey Club Stakes.

The Ontario Jockey Club, an overnight stakes restricted to Ontario foals, required a field of at least five to be carded and made the cut with six entrants.

Ice Bear, a homebred 6-year-old gelding who races for owner George Strawbridge and is trained by Mac Benson, is cutting back from one mile to seven furlongs on the turf course.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Queen’s Plate Day was not a particularly memorable one for trainer Roger Attfield.

Decked out in his finest here last Sunday, Attfield had watched Mobilizer finish ninth as the lukewarm favorite in the Queen’s Plate after Not Bourbon had run fifth as fourth choice at 9-2 in the Highlander.

All was not lost, however, as Spice Route intervened with an impressive 3 3/4-length score in the Grade 3, $163,600 Singspiel at 1 1/2 miles on the turf.

“If it wasn’t for Spice Route, I would have got killed,” said Attfield.

MIAMI – Trainers Michael Trombetta and Eddie Kenneally have already tasted success at Calder’s Summit of Speed. So both are returning again this year, each with a pair of horses for Saturday’s event.

All four of the Trombetta and Kenneally runners should be considered major players.

Trombetta won the Grade 2 Carry Back a year ago with Not for Silver and will bring him back as a 4-year-old to try his luck against older horses in Saturday’s Grade 2 Smile Sprint Handicap.

For decades, Quarter Horse handicappers at Los Alamitos did not get far into their selections before checking on what Blane was starting. Blane was the man who owners from his native Idaho to Southern California and back in Texas and Oklahoma wanted to train their horses at Los Alamitos.

Star Guitar emerged from his victory in the $100,000 Louisiana Showcase Classic last Saturday night better than ever, according to trainer Al Stall Jr. The reigning Louisiana-bred Horse of the Year is on track to start in the Evangeline Mile against open company on Aug. 14. Last year he won the Evangeline Mile in addition to the meet’s top race for statebred runners.

“We are in a little different situation this year versus last,” Stall said while negotiating the Atlanta airport on his way back to his Kentucky base from Evangeline.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Apprentice jockey Ryan Pacheco is hoping that moving his tack to Hastings will help land him a lot more live mounts than he was getting at Woodbine. Pacheco was one of 15 apprentices at Woodbine. At Hastings, Taletha Wyatt and Geovanni Franco are the only bug riders currently plying their trade, and unless Franco gets an extension, he will lose his apprentice status soon. At Woodbine this year, Pacheco won three races from 76 mounts.

Pacheco, 27, was born and raised in Toronto, but he had never been to the track until he was 18.

BOSSIER CIYY, La. – There appears to be a definite women’s movement going on this summer at Louisiana Downs.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – With two of the region’s top older horses in his barn, trainer Gary Thomas has a lot to look forward to in the coming months. Golden Yank, who was third last out in the Grade 2 Cornhusker, and Greeley’s Conquest, who is to make his first start of the year Friday night at Lone Star Park, both have rich races on the immediate horizon.

Blind Luck, the nation’s most accomplished 3-year-old filly, will attempt to follow in the footsteps of fellow Kentucky Oaks winner Proud Spell when she travels from her California base to Delaware Park for Saturday’s Delaware Oaks.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Trappe Shot tops a field of six for the $175,000 Long Branch Stakes for 3-year-olds on Saturday at Monmouth Park.

The Long Branch offers berths in the biggest race of the meet as the first two finishers are traditionally extended invitations to the $1 million Haskell on Aug. 1.

Trappe Shot, an impressive allowance winner on the Belmont Stakes undercard, figures to be favored in his stakes debut, following three straight dominant wins.