HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The hottest trainer in the game will try to foil the return of one of the most popular horses of recent years when Todd Pletcher sends out Friendly Island against Funny Cide in the $100,000 Mr. Prospector Handicap on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Eric Coatrieux would be the first to admit that his Sovereign Award winner Niigon doesn't always bring his "A" game to the races. But if he does, the Canadian-bred is certainly talented enough to win Saturday's $100,000 at Gulfstream Park.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Nick Zito nominated two of his 3-year-olds to Saturday's Aventura Stakes but will start only one, Little Cliff, owned by Robert LaPenta.

"He's already had two distance races and has got the best foundation of any of my 3-year-olds right now," Zito explained. "I also nominated Superfly to the race, but he had a tough 2-year-old campaign and I think I'd like to wait and start him back sometime in February."

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Eoin Harty has made a career of being a team player. Having worked as an assistant under Bob Baffert during the 1990's glory years of Silver Charm and Real Quiet, Harty was hired six years ago by Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum to help him retain his stature as the world's foremost racehorse owner.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - Saturday's Grade 2 did not draw the kind of big guns it usually does, when it is run in its typical March spot on the calendar at Fair Grounds, but several horses in the field have the potential to establish themselves as players in this year's up-for-grabs handicap division.

Alumni Hall, Brass Hat, and West Virginia are chief among that group. Also with a chance on Saturday is Mr. Trieste, who has won his last eight starts, all in New Mexico, and who will be facing the biggest test of his career.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - As warm-up acts go, Saturday's Red Camelia and Pan Zareta handicaps should do a more than adequate job of setting the table for the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap at the Fair Grounds meet at Louisiana Downs. The Red Camelia and Pan Zareta are extremely wide open with only two pounds separating the runners in each race.

The Red Camelia is for Louisiana-bred fillies and mares at a mile on the turf, while the Pan Zareta, also for fillies and mares, will be run at six furlongs on the main track. The entrants in both races are weighted from 117 to 119 pounds.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - Trainer William "Buff" Bradley might not be a familiar name to those who follow racing in Louisiana, but he has strong ties to the state and on Saturday will start the co-highweight in one of Louisiana's richest races, the Grade 2, $400,000 New Orleans Handicap.

Bradley is a former assistant to the late trainer Clarence Picou, and was part of the stable's team when Free Spirit's Joy, a Louisiana-bred, posted a $59 upset in the 1991 Super Derby. Fast-forward to the present day, and Bradley has developed a major stakes winner of his own in Brass Hat.

ARCADIA, Calif. - With divisional leaders Folklore and Wild Fit, along with Hollywood Starlet winner Diplomat Lady, awaiting spots later this meet, some of the second-level 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita will have a chance to shine on Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The past few weeks have been difficult ones for trainer Doug O'Neill and his brother, Dennis, but they had plenty to smile about on Thursday.

Stevie Wonderboy, whom Doug trained to a victory in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, had his most serious work since then on Thursday, when he traveled six furlongs in 1:12.60 on a fast track at Hollywood Park. That was Stevie Wonderboy's final work before his first scheduled start as a 3-year-old, in the Grade 2, $150,000 San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 14.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trailing Twelve surprised his trainer, Rick Violette, by winning a two-turn maiden race off one sprint start with 50 days in between.

Saturday, Trailing Twelve will try to make another favorable impression when he jumps from the maiden ranks to stakes company in the $65,000 Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct. The Count Fleet, at a mile and 70 yards, is the first step on the road to the April 8 Wood Memorial.