MUSKEGON, Mich. - Freddie Mata returned to the saddle last Saturday, a little more than two months after he broke an ankle in a morning training accident at Great Lakes Downs. He won with his third mount back and went on to win six races for the week, including three on Monday.

Mata's return was delayed when he didn't have a doctor's note on Friday and was taken off his mounts. Then in the first race on Saturday, a rider change was made in his favor but the word was never communicated to the jockeys' room and he sat out the race.

Allowance preps for the major 2-year-old stakes at River Downs, the Grade 3 Cradle Stakes and the Bassinet Stakes, were run last weekend and the odds-on favorites did not disappoint.

MIAMI - Good fortune smiled not once but twice on trainer Tim Ritvo at Calder last Sunday, when his Class of Seventy scored an upset in the Side Bar Stakes. The one-mile turf race was the final local prep for the $150,000 Miami Mile Breeders' Cup Handicap on Labor Day.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - On Wednesday morning, trainers Malcolm Pierce and Mark Casse were considering their options had Friday's allowance prep for the Natalma Stakes failed to fill.

But neither needed to worry, since the prep, a $67,900 race over seven furlongs on turf, attracted a field of nine 2-year-old fillies.

The Natalma, a one-mile turf race, offers Grade 3 status and a purse of $150,000 here Sept. 12.

Pierce is expected to send out Ring City for Friday's feature, and Casse will likely send Little Hussy, who would be coupled with first-time starter Dolce Diva.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - The top of the jockey standings was a little crowded heading into Tuesday's card here, the last of the five-day racing week.

Last year's champion rider, Martin Ramirez, had 52 wins and was tied with Brian Bochinski and Neil Poznansky. When the day ended, Poznansky was the leader with 54 and Bochinski was next with 53.

Ramirez, a perennial contender, was blanked. All three riders have been named to five runners on Friday's card.

The three riders have had a similar number of mounts - Ramirez has had 320, Bochinski and Poznansky 319 each.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Fifteen 3-year-olds have been nominated to the $250,000 Canadian Derby at Northlands Park Aug. 28. The Grade 3 Canadian Derby will be run over 1 3/8 miles.

If more than 12 enter the Canadian Derby next Wednesday, then preference will be given to stakes winners. Second priority goes to stakes-placed horses. Finally, earnings will come into play.

Organ Grinder, owned by S and B Stable, trained by Sid Attard, and ridden by Jim McAleney, is scheduled to come here from Toronto, while seven horses have been nominated by Vancouver interests.

DEL MAR, Calif. - There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. It's a tightrope that jockey Corey Nakatani has walked throughout his career. Occasionally he has fallen off, landed hard, and had to dust himself off. This summer at Del Mar, Nakatani is striking just the right balance. He is ingratiating himself anew with prominent trainers, is riding with supreme self-assurance, is making the right moves at every critical point in a race, and as a result is rocketing up the jockeys' standings. After four weeks, Nakatani is second, behind only Tyler Baze.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Distance rarely has been an issue for Niall O'Callaghan. A native Irishman who began his training career in the eastern U.S. before ultimately settling in Kentucky, O'Callaghan has set up shop at a wide range of racetracks, always with the intent of improving his stature in the game.

Likewise, distance may not be an issue for a colt whom O'Callaghan will ship to Chicago for the Thursday feature: . On Thursday, he will run 6 1/2 furlongs in the featured fifth race at Arlington Park, a $33,000 entry-level allowance.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Night Patrol was considered a live longshot in the San Diego Handicap three weeks ago, but whatever chance he had went by the wayside the first stride out of the gate, when he stumbled badly. He remarkably remained in the thick of the battle until the top of the stretch, when his eventful trip took its toll.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Bettors at Del Mar on Thursday might get Jippy with it.

Forget trying to pronounce , who could start as a slight favorite in the featured seventh race. Leave that to a trained professional, like track announcer Trevor Denman. Instead, just call him Jippy.