STICKNEY, Ill. - Ro Parra has gotten quick returns on horses before. In 2005, he bought Super Frolic in August, and by the end of September had won the Hawthorne Gold Cup with the horse. But Student Council paid off even faster - and paid off richly, at that.

Purchased privately in early August, Student Council won the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 19 in his first start for Parra's Millennium Farms, and now he, too, has come to Hawthorne for a shot at the $500,000 Gold Cup on Saturday.

Field size was up and pick six carryovers were down at the Los Angeles County Fair meet that ended Monday. Overall, the 16-day Fairplex season ended with a slight decline in all-sources handle. Based on preliminary figures, average daily handle on Fairplex races was more than $6.8 million, down roughly 3.5 percent over the record 2006 meet.

MIAMI - Gordon Potter trains the best 2-year-old filly in south Florida, Silk Ridge, who earned her standing by following her 8 3/4-length triumph earlier this month in the Susan's Girl Stakes with a 5 1/4-length victory last Saturday in the mile and 70-yard Brave Raj Stakes.

For Potter, 77, Silk Ridge has evoked memories of the most famous 2-year-old filly he ever trained, Hot N Nasty, who gained more notoriety for a race she lost than any of the stakes races she won during her juvenile campaign in 1974.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - With the news last week that Jambalaya was out for the season, it appeared that there would be no Woodbine representative for this year's Breeders' Cup program at Monmouth Park.

Bear Now stepped into the breech last Saturday, winning Philadelphia Park's Grade 2 Fitz Dixon Cotillion Handicap in impressive fashion and becoming a candidate for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff on Oct. 27.

"It gives her five weeks between starts; the timing is perfect," said Reade Baker, who trains Bear Now for the Bear Stable of Danny Dion.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - With the help of a couple of equipment changes, Cherokee Triangle appears to be blossoming heading into the new $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Monmouth Park on Oct. 26. That race is the next stop for Cherokee Triangle, who last Saturday won the $200,000 Sunday Silence at Louisiana Downs by 10 3/4 lengths, earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 85.

"He was very impressive," said trainer Mike Maker.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Bobby Frankel is still noncommittal about whether Ginger Punch will run in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, but on Tuesday the trainer jumped off the fence regarding this Sunday's Grade 1, $600,000 Beldame.

Ginger Punch is a go.

Frankel made his decision after he watched Ginger Punch cruise through a half-mile breeze in 47.64 seconds Tuesday morning over Belmont's main track. It was her first workout since she scored a three-quarter-length victory over Miss Shop in the Grade 1 Ruffian on Sept. 8.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Workout times were noticeably quicker Tuesday on Cushion Track, as Santa Anita continued to tinker with the newly installed synthetic surface in advance of the first week of racing at the Oak Tree meet, which was to begin Wednesday.

The average half-mile workout time Tuesday was 48.77 seconds, more than second faster than the day before. The average five-furlong work time was 1:01.41, also more than a second faster. Magna track-surface consultant Ted Malloy said the faster surface was intentional.

AUBURN, Wash. - There is a lot riding on Saturday's 1 1/16-mile Gottstein Futurity, and it doesn't all have to do with the $100,000 purse and divisional honors.

Smarty Deb has already wrapped up the track's 2-year-old filly divisional title with three straight impressive wins, and the purse, while very nice, pales in comparison with the one she has her sights on. That would be the $2 million that is up for grabs in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Monmouth Park on Oct. 27.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Doug O'Neill's streak of consecutive training titles in Southern California reached eight Monday when he won the title at Fairplex Park. O'Neill has won or tied for every training title on the circuit since the 2006 Del Mar meeting.

Such results are expected from a stable of more than 100 horses that has been successful at the highest level of racing. This year, O'Neill has won major stakes in California, Dubai, Illinois, and New York.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The six-week Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita begins Wednesday, and the autumn leaves are not the only signs of change during this short racing season. There are at least two others.

One will be a source of anxiety for horsemen and handicappers. The dirt track at Santa Anita is gone, and replaced with a new synthetic material called Cushion Track, which was initially greeted with positive reviews by horsemen.