DEL MAR, Calif. - For a guy with a small barn, trainer Howard Zucker has had a very big meet this summer at Del Mar. He has sent out eight starters, and four of them have won. Three of those wins have come in turf sprints, with the fillies Synnin and Grinnin and Queen of the Catsle, and on Wednesday at Del Mar, Zucker will send out those fillies in split $65,000 divisions of the Daisycutter Handicap, attempting to add to his totals for the meet, and in turf sprints.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Ice Bear, prepping for a probable appearance in Sunday's Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, breezed five furlongs in 1:03.60 over the E.P. Taylor turf course here Monday morning.

The going was firm as Ice Bear worked on the outer part of the course under jockey Chantal Sutherland.

"You couldn't tell much, going around the 'dogs,' " said Mac Benson, who trains Ice Bear for owner/breeder George Strawbridge Jr.

FLORENCE, Ky. - It won't be difficult to connect the synthetic dots from Kentucky to California this fall. With most of the Oct. 24-25 Breeders' Cup championships being run on the synthetic surface at Santa Anita, horsemen throughout North America are looking long and hard at giving their horses a final prep in Kentucky.

That's because the Kentucky Cup series will be run Sept. 27 on the Polytrack at Turfway Park, followed by the FallStars series on Oct. 3-5, opening weekend of the fall meet at Keeneland, which also uses Polytrack as its primary racing surface.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Roger Attfield's Sunday afternoon did not begin auspiciously as he was forced to scratch Not Bourbon, the probable odds-on favorite, from the Vice Regent Stakes at Woodbine.

But all's well that ends well, and Attfield still got to celebrate when Sand Cove, his "other" entrant, reported home a half-length in front for his first stakes victory in the $125,400 Vice Regent.

Sand Cove, a colt owned by Ralph Johnson, was making his turf debut in the one-mile race for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - The strong finish by Buffalo Man to capture the Grade 3, $150,000 Red Bank Stakes on the turf at Monmouth Park last Saturday convinced trainer Cam Gambolati that the 4-year-old colt can step up to the next level.

Just exactly where that level takes Buffalo Man remains to be resolved.

Buffalo Man, showing a welcome ability to rate and rally for jockey Carlos Marquez Jr., got up by three-quarters of a length over the defending Red Bank champion, Icy Atlantic.

Officials are unsure what to expect when the San Joaquin County Fair meet begins a nine-day run on Wednesday in Stockton, Calif. It's only the second time a fair meet in Northern California has been conducted without the accompanying fair.

Stockton is running almost two months later than it has in recent years, when it opened the fair circuit in mid-June. The San Joaquin County Fair was conducted at that time this summer.

FLORENCE, Ky. - For five of the next seven months, live racing on the Kentucky circuit will be held at Turfway Park. The first month, however, has a considerably different feel than the last four, according to Turfway president Bob Elliston.

As opposed to the winter racing that takes place from late November to early April, "the weather gives us more options in September," said Elliston. "We can hold more outdoor events than we can in the middle of winter."

Pats High Life followed the pace set by his heavily favored stablemate, King Tymatt, and ran past him through the stretch to win the $13,000 Columbus Futurity by 4 1/4 lengths for 2-year-old Nebraska breds.

Trained by David Anderson, Pats High Life ($5.80) covered the six furlongs in 1:16.00.

Pay the Man made the lead a few strides out of the gate, turned back a strong challenge from stablemate Pyrite Gem, then widened through the stretch to post an eight-length length win in the $75,000 Rose De Bartolo Memorial at Thistledown.

Pyrite Gem was a clear second, three lengths ahead of Casey's Jet. Pay the Man got the nine furlongs in 1:51.32 over the fast track and returned $4 as the favorite. She is trained by Miguel Feliciano and was ridden by Adam Ramgeet.

Tribesman ($4.40), in his first start since May 16, blasted to the lead and scored a 4 1/2-length victory in the $76,000 California State Fair Sprint at Cal Expo.

Tribesman's final time of 1:07.61 for six furlongs was .01 of a second off Passing Game's track record set in 1993, when timing was done by fifths of seconds.

Tribesman was ridden by Russell Baze for trainer Roger Hansen. Jack Hes Tops checked when he ran up on heels at the quarter pole but finished strongly to edge Victory Kid by a nose for second.- Chuck Dybdal