NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Trainer Gerald Bennet's consecutvie win streak at Thistledown came to an end with eight winners, one short of the record nine won by Jamie Ness just two months ago, when his charge Berkley Square finished fifth in Friday's sevenh race at Thistledown.

Berkley Square broke a step slowly in the five-furlong claiming event but recovered nicely under Ernesto Oro, who handled the riding chores for Bennett's previous eight winners, to settle just three lengths off the early lead. He then turned in an even effort, finishing fifth beaten four lengths.

DEL MAR, Calif. - A two-length win by Colonel John in Friday's $91,970 Wickerr

Stakes at Del Mar, the five-time stakes winner's turf debut, left trainer Eoin Harty dazzled, and unsure whether to stay on turf.

"It's certainly a viable option now," Harty said. "He can do anything."

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - D. Wayne Lukas admitted he might have mismanaged Be Fair when he tried her in Grade 1 races like the Acorn and Prioress earlier this season. But the Hall of Fame trainer couldn't have spotted his 3-year-old filly any better than Friday's $142,500 Lake George Stakes at Saratoga, which Be Fair won by four widening lengths over Mary's Follies after the race scratched down to just four starters after being switched from the turf to a sloppy main track earlier in the day.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The 6 1/2-furlong Amsterdam has never been known as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Shadwell Travers. But such could be the case this summer if Quality Road performs to expectations when making his much-anticipated return in Monday's Grade 2 Amsterdam at Saratoga.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Catherine Day Phillips has two wins in the Breeders' Stakes in her portfolio, having sent out A Bit O' Gold to win as the second choice in 2004 and Jambalaya to prevail the following year as the favorite.

But Day Phillips will find herself in a different position Sunday, when she saddles Mr. Foricos Two U for the $500,000 Breeders', the 1o1/2-mile turf race that is the final leg of the Triple Crown for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Apprentice Bradley Wilson won the first race of his career last Sunday at Fort Erie and subsequently went through the initiation ritual all riders must face.

Wilson, 24, had been waiting patiently for his first win through a series of mounts, and when the win finally came he was overjoyed to put it behind him.

"Winston Wilkinson was kind enough to give me my first ride," said Wilson, "and when I placed in that try, I felt confident that the win would come. It took a while but now it is on to the next."

DEL MAR, Calif. - Zensational, the crack 3-year-old sprinter trained by Bob Baffert, will be favored to win his second consecutive Grade 1 in the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar next Saturday.

The six-furlong Crosby may not be Zensational's only start at Del Mar. The $300,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes over seven furlongs will be run on Sept. 6 and remains an option. The Grade 1 O'Brien is the same day as the $1 million Pacific Classic, an afternoon when there will be ample national attention on Del Mar.

Less than a month into the Ellis Park meet, Buff Bradley finds himself atop the trainer standings, having sent out five winners. He is just not sure how much longer he can stay on the lead. The Ellis meet concludes on Labor Day, Sept. 7.

"I guess we fired a lot of good bullets off the bat that happened to get up to win," he said of his mid-sized stable. "Now we have to go through another rotation, and it's gonna get harder for them."

BOSSIER CITY, La. - Sunday's entry-level optional claiming feature at Louisiana Downs drew an interesting cast of characters with several subplots. A field of eight has been entered with one, Miss Atlantic, scheduled to start only if the one-mile affair slated for the turf is transferred to the main track.

OCEANPORT, N.J. Rachel Alexandra, the 4-5 favorite to beat the colts in the $1.25 million Haskell Invitational, arrived at Monmouth Park shortly before 9 a.m. on Friday.

The filly shipped down from Steve Asmussen's barn at Saratoga, accompanied in the van by a pony.

"Everything went fine," said assistant Scott Blasi, who arrived about a half-hour before Rachel Alexandra. "She didn't turn a hair."