Friday's feature at the Sonoma County Fair could be the perfect spot for All Flags Flying to steal a victory. A one-mile allowance race on Santa Rosa's turf course, the feature has a field of seven, and All Flags Flying is a threat to lead all the way.

A 5-year-old mare, All Flags Flying was claimed by trainer Kent Molinaro for $25,000 from her last start May 4, when she finished third after setting an opening half in 44.44 seconds in a five-furlong turf race.

Molinaro has taken his time bringing All Flags Flying back, giving her only one work from May to July.

Estrelita D' Cielo continued her ascent at Yavapai on Monday, when she won the $15,000 Willow Lake Handicap at a mile. A 5-year-old mare, Estrelita D' Cielo was facing cheap restricted claimers as recently as April at Turf Paradise, but her form has surged lately and she is now a stakes winner.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The $50,000 B.C. Cup Sprint was already shaping up to be a very good race, but with the likely addition of Metatron, the 6 1/2-furlong Sprint could be the most intriguing race on B.C. Cup Day at Hastings on Aug. 7.

Metatron, trained by Mel Snow, was one of the top stakes horses at Hastings in 2004, when he won four races, including the Sir Winston Churchill Stakes. He also finished second in the Independence Day Handicap at Emerald Downs and led for the first six furlongs in the Longacres Mile before tiring to finish fifth.

Trainer James Jackson and racing official Lawrence Waite have been suspended by the Great Lakes Downs stewards for the remainder of the meet after the two had an altercation at the track earlier this month, according to an official with the Michigan Horse Racing Commission.

The ruling will deny both men access to the grounds at Great Lakes through Nov. 7, when the Michigan track ends its 2006 meet. Jackson's suspension began on July 20, eight days after the July 12 altercation. Waite's suspension began on July 23.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Let us all hail Perfect Drift, who puts a sudden halt to talk of the fragility of the modern Thoroughbred. Saturday at Arlington Park, he seeks not his first, not his second, but his third victory in the Grade 2, $300,000 Washington Park Handicap, a race he won last year and in 2003.

Can it be called a successful opening week at Del Mar even without cashing a ticket? Yes, absolutely it can.

A recap of the Week 1 wagers:

July 19: Get Funky missed in a three-way photo in race 6; longshot Pearls O'Plenty ran poorly in race 7.

July 20: All three plays ran poorly; a bad day.

July 21: Sunshine Ridge finished second at 6-1 in race 5; longshot Smart n'Quiet finished fourth at 23-1 in race 7.

July 22: Boy Toy ran poorly in race 1; Adance romped in race 7, but even-money was too short and she was "no play."

It came down to the last day and the final bet of the meet, but when Key Event came charging from off the pace to win at 5-2 back on Labor Day 2005, it meant that our ship had finally come in. Yes, after 36 days and $1,070 in total wagers in this internet endeavor, Key Event's winning payoff pushed our total returns into the black at $1,097 -- a $27 profit.

Hopefully, our profits this season will be a little better than 75 cents per racing day.

And away we go ...

There are stakes-quality horses all over the opening-day card at Saratoga in some wide-open allowance races, but the two actual stakes races appear to be among the most straightforward events on the program. My unexciting strategy in multirace wagers involving the two stakes is going to be to focus on the favorites.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Presious Passion has been steadily closing the gap in each of his last two starts.

If that pattern continues Thursday at Monmouth Park, the 3-year-old Presious Passion should be highly competitive in the featured optional claimer on the turf for second-level allowance runners or horses carrying a $35,000 tag. The race carries a purse of $40,000.

CHICAGO - It could be as few as six for the Washington Park Handicap, or as many as nine, but put a circle around Second of June's name - he's on his way.

Saturday's $300,000 Washington Park, Chicago's most important main-track route race of the season, will be much more a Midwest than a national affair, but the race still has a solid backbone, anchored by Perfect Drift, who won the race last year and in 2003.