DEL MAR, Calif. - Perfect Drift ended a stakes drought that lasted nearly two years with a win in the Grade 2 Washington Park Handicap at Arlington Park on July 30. For trainer Murray Johnson, the victory was proof that the 6-year-old Perfect Drift was not past his peak.

"That was when the non-believers got back on," Johnson said. "People thought he had lost a step."

Sunday, Perfect Drift can end a different kind of losing streak with a victory in the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Late Sunday afternoon the trainer Mike Stidham went through an hour of acute misery. At 4:57 p.m. Eastern he watched, via simulcast monitor at Mountaineer Park, as Culinary, favored at 4-5 in the $200,000 Monmouth Oaks, did a face plant leaving the gate. She wound up a distant fourth. Fifty-seven minutes later, the bell rang for the $750,000 West Virginia Derby, and Stidham also had the favorite, 3-1 Devilment. This one got out of the gate okay but rushed up between horses, got involved in a speed duel on a tiring track, and faded to ninth.

HENDERSON, Ky. - Having ventured from the breathtaking backdrop of Del Mar to the rural charm of Ellis Park, the California-bred mare Dream of Summer is far from home for a couple of good reasons.

"There was nowhere else to run," said Juan J. Garcia, the veteran trainer who has brought Dream of Summer to run Saturday in the highlight of the Ellis meet, the $150,000 Gardenia Handicap. "And the money is good."

HENDERSON, Ky. - David Pate has been working with racehorses for most of his adult life. He had an abbreviated and undistinguished career as a jockey before turning to training in 1972, and although he has sent out some 400 winners, he endured several years in the mid-1980's when he didn't win a single race.

HENDERSON, Ky. - There it sits, like the elephant in the living room. Although Ellis Park will try to put its best foot forward Saturday when it unveils its first-ever Big Four Stakes program, the unavoidable fact is that this has been a very disappointing summer from a business standpoint.

The nadir came Aug. 5, when Ellis announced an across-the-board 15 percent decrease in purses for the second half of a 41-day meet that ends Sept. 5.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - A very confident Tim Kelly sends out Confront in the 71st running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Sapling Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park.

A six-furlong race, the Sapling is the meet's top event for 2-year-olds and has attracted seven runners in search of their first graded victory.

Sudsy Baby will try to become a stakes winner Saturday at Woodbine in the $136,875 Ontario Debutante, a six-furlong event for 2-year-old fillies.

Sudsy Baby, a $40,000 2-year-old purchase by owner Winston Penny, graduated on the front end in her second start and then finished second to unbeaten Wannatalkaboutme in the five-furlong My Dear Stakes. Last time out, she captured a six-furlong allowance by 1 1/4 lengths under regular rider Todd Kabel.

Trainer Stanley Baresich believes Sudsy Baby does only as much as she has to when she competes.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Kaylee's Magic, who won the open Princess Margaret by 6 1/2 lengths, tops the $60,000 Filly Sale Stakes for 2-year-olds here Saturday. The filly Sale Stakes drew nine entrants, with the $60,000 Sale Stakes for 2-year-old colts and geldings attracting a field of eight.

Both races go at 6 1/2 furlongs, with the fillies carrying 117 pounds and the colts and geldings 118 pounds.

AUBURN, Wash. - Cee's Irish heads a field of seven 3-year-old fillies in Saturday's $100,000 Washington Breeders' Cup Oaks at 1 1/8 miles, the headliner on a 10-race Emerald Downs card that also includes the $40,000 Knights Choice Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and the $40,000 Strong Ruler Stakes for juvenile colts and geldings.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The $40,000 Nanaimo Handicap should point out some of the real contenders for the Grade 3, $150,000 British Columbia Breeders' Cup Oaks on Sept. 4. The Nanaimo drew eight 3-year-old filles and goes as the eighth race at Hastings Sunday.

Either Wind Surf or Regal Pusher will be favored. Wind Surf, who was recently purchased by Mike and Karnel Jawl, will be making her first start at Hastings. Wind Surf is still eligible for a nonwinners-of-two allowance, but she appears to fit nicely with stakes company at Hastings.