OZONE PARK, N.Y. - With only eight starters to this point of the inner-track meet, trainer Ben Perkins Jr. has been conspicuous by his absence. Things may be about to change for the New Jersey-based trainer, who has won with 22-percent of his starters here the last three winters.

Perkins will be in action Sunday at Aqueduct when he sends out Wildcat Brief in the $65,000 Fred "Cappy" Capossela Stakes for 3-year-old males and Uphill Wildcat, a first-time starter, in a six-furlong maiden race for 3-year-old fillies.

NEW ORLEANS - After five months on the sidelines, Flying Pegasus proved he can still compete in the big leagues, running a strong second in the Grade 3 Risen Star last weekend as he began his 3-year-old campaign.

Sent off at 10-1, Flying Pegasus broke from post 12 and raced wide the whole way - and was still good for second place, two lengths in back of the winner, Friesan Fire.

Headquartered at Fair Grounds, and now firmly in conversations regarding the best 3-year-olds at the track, Flying Pegasus is being pointed toward the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 16.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on Feb. 28 is shaping up as the strongest 3-year-old prep of the winter, and from the looks of things This Ones for Phil is shaping up as a formidable opponent for any of the bevy of Kentucky Derby hopefuls considering the one-mile race at Gulfstream Park.

Whenever a 3-year-old looks good winning a race at this time of year, and the connections aren't as high-profile or deep-pocketed as, say, Sheikh Mohammed bid Rashid al Maktoum, you can bet your last dollar that the phone is going to ring soon.

So when a colt with untapped potential named Parade Clown won the WEBN Stakes last Saturday at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., it didn't take long for the calls to come in from folks with Kentucky Derby fever.

ARCADIA, Calif. At the least, the 2008 campaign of Euroglide was a puzzle. At times, it seemed like a crisis.

A gelding who won the first two starts of his career as a 3-year-old in 2007, Euroglide showed no desire to compete on the racetrack last year, finishing fifth, ninth, and being pulled up in his first three starts.

"He was afraid to run," trainer Peter Eurton said. "He wasn't enjoying himself. He went the other direction and got nervous."

ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer O.J. Jauregui said Friday he would scratch Merus Miami from Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields.

Jauregui said the colt had a small abscess in his left front foot and had missed two days of training. He said that he would likely point the stakes-winning colt, who finished third in the California Derby, to the Grade 3, $200,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 28.

"The main thing is to make sure he's okay and then go from there," Jauregui said. "There are a lot of races for 3-year-olds."

ARCADIA, Calif. - Santa Anita will have a two-day pick six carryover of $353,751 on Friday after a lack of winning favorites on Thursday made the bet too difficult for bettors to solve.

Friday's pick six covers the third through eighth races on a program that begins at 1 p.m. Pacific.

The pick six races include two races on turf, although they could be switched to the main track if the forecast for wet weather is accurate. The four main-track races include three races around two turns and one sprint.

Fasig-Tipton Company Inc. will team with the New York Racing Association to develop a "festival of racing" at this summer's Saratoga meet. Events are expected to include a jockey challenge, best-turned-out horse contest, a speaker series featuring racing figures, and a handicapping contest.

ALBANY, Calif. - One year ago, Autism Awareness unexpectedly stepped into the spotlight by winning the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby in a $126 upset.

On Saturday he will take on the multiple graded-stakes winner El Gato Malo in the $50,000 McCann's Mojave on the El Camino Real undercard at Golden Gate Fields. Five older runners will compete in the 1 1/16-mile event.

Both Autism Awareness and El Gato Malo went to the sidelines last year after scoring derby victories.

Well-traveled Miss Missile will make her seasonal debut in the $10,000 Bold Accent Stakes at Fonner Park on Saturday.

A 4-year-old daughter of Golden Missile owned and trained by Charles Smith, Miss Missile visited four states and a foreign country last year while racking up 5 wins from her 12 starts.