CHICAGO - Anyone with a passing familiarity of the Chicago racing circuit knows that Chris Emigh has turned into the perennial leading rider at Hawthorne, and Emigh even won the Arlington riding title last year. So, it stood to reason that Emigh would eventually wear down young Israel Ocampo, who seized an early lead in the Hawthorne standings during the ongoing winter-spring meet. But it hasn't happened yet.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer David Fawkes said he couldn't be happier with Take D' Tour's second-place finish behind Ermine in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn. Among those in her wake in that April 7 race was the reigning Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Round Pond.

"I thought she ran super," Fawkes said. "Especially considering it was her first start in 10 weeks."

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Brian Lynch is back and appears to be loaded for bear in his second season as a trainer of record for Stronach Stable here at Woodbine.

Lynch, who was based at Palm Meadows over the winter and tuned up several of his charges at Gulfstream Park, arrived Wednesday in concert with the first load of six horses from the Florida training center.

Another 20 horses checked in Friday from Florida, and 20 2-year-olds from Adena Springs South will arrive in Ontario next week.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Silent Pleasure won his third straight stakes race Thursday, when he turned back Kid Grindstone in the stretch for a two-length victory in the $100,000 Fifth Season at Oaklawn Park. Kid Grindstone was a clear second, finishing four lengths in front of third-place finisher Like an Eagle.

The Fifth Season was the fifth of nine stakes that are being run over the final week of the meet as part of the annual Racing Festival of the South.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Street Sounds, making her first start since winning the Selima Stakes last November on turf, got a perfect trip under Edgar Prado and narrowly held off favored Forever Together to win the 22nd running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Beaumont Stakes on a chilly Thursday afternoon at Keeneland.

Always near the pace from the outside post in a field of seven 3-year-old fillies, Street Sounds edged clear after turning for home, then was kept to pressure to defeat previously unbeaten Forever Together by a neck.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Gail Cox wasn't quite prepared for the cold weather when she checked into Woodbine with her eight-horse string last Sunday.

But Cox, who had been based in Florida since the beginning of December, will be looking to heat things up when she sends out L'Argent in Saturday's $125,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes.

"They say horses ship better from hot to cold," said Cox, who had been at Payson Park. "L'Argent likes the cold, actually."

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It is unlikely he will have an impact on this year's Triple Crown, but a 3-year-old worth keeping an eye on is Vitruvius, who won a first-level allowance race by 3 3/4 lengths here on Wednesday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - A fourth-place finish by Stormello in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 31 has prompted trainer Bill Currin to try a late strategy change as he prepares the colt for the Kentucky Derby on May 5.

With a little more than three weeks remaining to the Kentucky Derby, Currin is trying to teach Stormello to accept being rated, and hopefully to develop a stalking style after running on or near the front in his nine-race career.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Racing was canceled at Aqueduct after the second race on Thursday after the jockeys refused to ride, citing unsafe track conditions.

Heavy rains turned the track into a sea of slop prior to Thursday's opener. After riding the first race over a sealed sloppy track, the jockeys met as a group and decided to ride the second. It was after the second race that several riders said the track was uneven and had washed out in several spots. They informed management they would not ride the remainder of the card.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Despite some supply delays, Del Mar has nearly completed the installation of a Polytrack synthetic surface on its main track and will send horses over the surface for the first time later this month, according to track vice president Craig Fravel.

Fravel said Wednesday that the installation of the surface is "85 to 90 percent done," with only the rail portion of the final turn left to be completed.