SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When trainer Lisa Lewis picked out Church Service for owner Peter Karches at the 2004 Keeneland September yearling sale, she really liked what she saw, but was surprised at how much they had to pay.

Church Service cost only $32,000 despite a solid pedigree - he's by Pulpit, whose stud fee is $60,000, and out of 1998 Tropical Park Oaks winner To Be Approved.

"He wasn't really big, but athletic and sound-looking," Lewis said. "I was surprised we bought him for so cheap. I thought maybe we didn't see something that others did."

DEL MAR, Calif. - Nearly everything went wrong for Intercontinental in the Grade 1 John Mabee Handicap on July 23. She was rank early and encountered trouble on the second turn and in the stretch before finishing a close third to the upset winner, Amorama.

Revenge may come for Intercontinental in a lesser race on Saturday, the $200,000 Palomar Breeders' Cup Handicap over 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares at Del Mar.

CHICAGO - Miss Terrible lives like a pampered princess. She is one of only two horses in the care of trainer Brad Ross, a longtime blacksmith, and Ross lavishes attention on her. Miss Terrible trains like a typical racehorse, but her days are punctuated by rolls in a sandpit beside her barn and regular walks around the Arlington Park backstretch.

In fact, the surprising thing early Thursday afternoon was that Miss Terrible was actually in her stall.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - The virus that swept through Terri Pompay's barn last week spared Colormein.

"I was a little worried, because 75 percent of my horses were very sick," Pompay said. "They came down with high fevers and coughing. I had about six horses that didn't get sick, and she was one of them."

That could be a positive omen for Colormein in Saturday's $100,000 Sorority Stakes at Monmouth Park.

The Sorority, the track's top race for 2-year-old fillies, is the main event of the holiday weekend on the Jersey Shore.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Warm Rain has the highest last-out Beyer Speed Figure on turf in Saturday's $147,000 Ontario Colleen Handicap, an 86 earned in her front-running triumph over older foes in a $62,500 optional claimer. Whether she can duplicate it in a 14-horse field containing lots of speed is a question handicappers must ponder in the Ontario Colleen, a one-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies at Woodbine.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Something has to give when Vye Me to the Moon and April Foolish meet in the feature race at Hastings Saturday, a 6 1/2-furlong optional $75,000 claiming race that drew five fillies and mares.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Kaylee's Magic attempts to gain revenge for her recent Sale Stakes defeat when she faces six rivals at Northlands Park in Saturday's $50,000 Bird of Pay for 2-year-old fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs.

AUBURN, Wash. - Starbird Road and Eastern Accent, who finished a head apart here Aug. 14, will meet again in Saturday's six-furlong feature at Emerald Downs, for optional $32,000 claiming company.

MIAMI - Can anybody beat In Summation and Running Lass, or are both youngsters on the path to an unprecedented double sweep in this year's Florida Stallion Stakes?

Those questions will be answered along with many others on Saturday's Juvenile Showcase Card at Calder, a unique 14-race program consisting entirely of 2-year-old races. The card is highlighted by the $125,000 Affirmed and Susan's Girl divisions of the Florida Stallion Stakes, both at seven furlongs.

MIAMI - After R Loyal Man won his debut impressively and finished second in the Grade 3 Bashford Manor Stakes in his only other start, trainer Tim Ritvo could have gotten ambitious with R Loyal Man and perhaps set his sights on some of the bigger 2-year-old races this summer at Saratoga.