INGLEWOOD, Calif. - One of the remarkable aspects of Declan's Moon's win in the Grade 3 Prevue Stakes at Hollywood Park on Saturday is that trainer Ron Ellis insists the colt was far from his best.

Making his first start since winning the Del Mar Futurity in September, Declan's Moon scored a two-length win over Bushwacker, running the seven furlongs in 1:21.74. Jockey Victor Espinoza never used his whip.

Ellis considered the Prevue an ideal trial for Declan's Moon's next start, the Grade 1 Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 18, which will be his first start at 1 1/16 miles.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Before skipping town for the winter, horsemen always are in favor of having a chance to make a little shipping money. Churchill Downs is only too happy to comply as usual this fall, as plenty of lucrative opportunities await horsemen during the final four-day stretch that closes the 21-day fall meet.

ALBANY, Calif. - Wednesday's Thanksgiving-week opener at Golden Gate Fields includes a pair of $25,000 claiming sprints as an interesting set of co-features.

Three-year-old fillies meet in the seventh race, with Smoke Break seemingly the one to beat. A daughter of Smokester, Smoke Break has never won a stakes but was second in the Cinderella at Hollywood Park in her second career start. She also finished second in both the Mid Peninsula as a 2-year-old and the Miss California this year at Golden Gate.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mr. Perpetuity, who was scratched from last Saturday's allowance prep for the Valedictory Handicap, reappears in a more realistic spot in Wednesday's seventh race, a $40,000 claimer going 1 1/16 miles.

Mr. Perpetuity, a 10-time winner from 42 starts, is at the tail end of a lucrative year during which he has won 4 of 9 outings for earnings of $141,987.

Megascape rebounded from a poor performance in last month's Maid of the Mist Stakes by going gate to wire to win the Grade 3, $101,500 by 2 1/4 lengths at Aqueduct. Alfonsina, the 7-10 favorite, finished a nonthreatening second, three-quarters of a length ahead of More Moonlight.

Megascape, a 2-year-old daughter of Cape Canaveral trained by Steve Asmussen, won the Joseph Gimma Stakes at Belmont on Oct. 3, then finished sixth as the even-money favorite in the Maid of the Mist 20 days later, but afterward was found to have a lung infection.

Sandias Peppermint, ridden by Casey Lambert, went to the front early in the $131,500 Red Hedeman Mile Handicap at Sunland Park and went on to a five-length victory.

Mojo Mundo, the 2-1 favorite, drifted wide in the early stretch but held second by 1 1/2 lengths over Smooth Ghost.

Sandias Peppermint ($7.40), a 2-year-old New Mexico-bred trained by Jackie Riddle, covered the mile in 1:42.20 over a fast track.

Count on My Word ($6.20) trailed for the first half-mile before rallying to a three-quarter-length victory over Brent's Challanger in the $40,000 Ruff/Kirchberg Memorial Handicap for Ohio-breds at Beulah Park.

Count on My Word, ridden by Ernest Oro for trainer Joe Martin, clocked the 1 1/4 miles in 2:06.18 over a good track.

CHICAGO - A half-length lead on the far turn opened to five at the top of the stretch, and Dutchie was not done yet. At the finish she had almost three seconds on her nearest pursuer. Dutchie had smashed a field of $14,000 claiming horses - and earned herself a major class hike on Wednesday at Hawthorne.

Dutchie, her moribund career revived by the recent blowout win, was one of seven horses entered in the sixth race, a third-level allowance with a $35,000 claiming option. Dutchie and Jo Me the Money run for the tag; the other four are in under allowance conditions.

HOUSTON - Boggy Creek unleashed an explosive move around the final turn in the $150,000 Sam Houston Texan Juvenile on Saturday night, winning the race by three lengths before a crowd of 8,284 at Sam Houston Race Park.

The Juvenile was Boggy Creek's first start in blinkers, and his first route race on dirt.

Major League finished second, and it was another neck back in third to 2-5 favorite Leaving on My Mind.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - It already had been a rough week for trainer Bob Tiller, who was forced to retire the crack filly Winter Garden shortly after discovering that his promising 2-year-old Slew's Saga had emerged from the Coronation Futurity with chips in both knees.