PORTLAND, Ore. - Trainer Ben Root entered the new year with more than twice as many seconds as wins at the Portland Meadows meeting, and he had yet to win here with either of his two best horses - Silent Exploit and Cascadians Cuttie.

Da Candy Man may not have been able to handle Manolito when they met here last spring, but he got his revenge in last Saturday's $125,000 Pepsi Cola Handicap.

"The race went very well," said rider Casey Lambert. "I was fortunate to pick up the mount. I had to run up against Da Candy Man last time."

Trained by Dan Dennison, Da Candy Man finished second to Manolito in last April's Copper Top Futurity but didn't race again until Dec. 10. He has come back a brand new horse.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Oaklawn Park has been on an incredible run the past several years, both business-wise and with the quality of its racing, thanks to horses like Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex. But this year might be the track's best yet. Oaklawn, which begins its 102nd season Friday, will have record purses, a souped-up 3-year-old series, expanded wagering options, and legions of horses to call on during its 56-day meet.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Who's got the big horse? That's the big question at Oaklawn Park, where the winners of four of the last six Triple Crown races have been based. Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2004, and Afleet Alex won the Preakness and Belmont in 2005.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Round Pond, an Eclipse Award finalist who made her first career start last year at Oaklawn, is back working at this track, and on Wednesday breezed a half-mile in 50.20 seconds. Round Pond and Rockport Harbor give trainer John Servis a strong hand in stakes for fillies and mares and older horses this meet.

Both horses shipped into Oaklawn on Nov. 20, and both have progressed rapidly following layoffs. Both could make their 4-year-old debuts next month.

ARCADIA, Calif. - January is too early to ponder the Kentucky Derby. The immediate concern is race 6 - an allowance route for Derby hopefuls - Friday at Santa Anita. So do you believe in the favorite, or not?

is either the biggest cinch on the card or the most overrated 3-year-old in California. He can prove it one way or the other when he faces eight others in the first-condition allowance at a 1 1/16 miles.

ARCADIA, Calif. - You would expect one of the circuit's top 3-year-old colts to work six furlongs faster than 1:14.40, but the Santa Anita surface on which A. P. Warrior worked Wednesday was markedly slow. As for the workout time, trainer Eoin Harty said: "It's not what I wanted, but it was the second-fastest work at the distance. The track is a little off. It's hard to get a handle [on the times]."

Barring a wet track, A. P. Warrior will run Jan. 29 in the El Camino Real at Bay Meadows. The $100,000 Sham Stakes on Feb. 4 at Santa Anita is the backup plan for A. P. Warrior.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - An underachieving sort throughout his career, Colita may finally be poised to earn his first stakes win Saturday, when he runs in the Grade 3, $100,000 Aqueduct Handicap over the inner track.

A 6-year-old son of Grindstone, Colita has won 7 of 21 career starts, but is winless in eight stakes attempts. Last month, he ended an eight-race losing streak with a 1 1/4-length win in an allowance race over the inner track. A few days later, trainer Todd Pletcher revealed that Colita had undergone throat surgery before that race.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Patience is a virtue all trainers preach but not all practice.

It is something of an acquired skill that trainers must learn and then pass on to their owners.

Trainer Art Sherman has gotten the most out of his horses by exercising patience. A good example is Another House, who runs against six foes in an entry-level allowance Friday at Bay Meadows.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Darling Daughter did not begin her career until the fall of her 4-year-old campaign, but she has proven to be a late bloomer by winning two of her four starts. Darling Daughter will try to continue to make up for lost time when she goes off as the horse to beat in a full field of 12 fillies and mares slated to go a mile in Friday's $35,000 feature at Gulfstream Park.