OCEANPORT, N.J. - No matter what method of choice is used when it comes to handicapping Sunday's Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational - be it speed figures, class, or a mail order horse racing calculator - there's a good chance that you will end up liking either Lion Heart or Rock Hard Ten. It's tough not to: Both have run against the best horses of their generation and have been earning Beyers generally well above what the rest of the field has been putting up.

DEL MAR, Calif. - While the barriers they face Sunday at Del Mar are as dissimilar as their backgrounds, every challenger in the Grade 2 Clement Hirsch Handicap will be chasing the same target - Star Parade.

Nine fillies and mares entered the $300,000 Hirsch, a 1 1/16-mile dirt race that boils down to a simple question: Will front-runner Star Parade lead gate to wire?

"We're not going to fight her. Sometimes it's better to let them roll," Star Parade's trainer, Darrell Vienna, said.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Tied for fifth place in the trainer standings through Thursday, Bob Baffert has abandoned any hope of extending his streak of seven consecutive Del Mar training titles this summer.

Baffert's winning streak began in 1997. This year, he may settle for a top three finish.

So far, Baffert has won four races, trailing Doug O'Neill (10), Jeff Mullins (9), Bill Spawr (6), and Mike Mitchell (5). Baffert is tied with Bobby Frankel and John Sadler.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Lilsisterlightning and Storm-ented look like the ones to beat in the feature race at Hastings on Sunday, a $35,000 optional sprint for fillies and mares.

A former stakes winner, Lilsisterlightning will likely be favored. She's coming off a sharp win at this level July 1, and, with her good speed, she'll be tough to get past after breaking from her rail post position.

AUBURN, Wash. - Willie the Cat will be back at his best game on Sunday, when he heads a cast of six in the $40,000 Governor's Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Willie the Cat, a brilliant sprinter, is coming off a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Budweiser Emerald Handicap at a mile on June 20.

"I had my doubts about whether he would go a mile because he is such a big, heavy horse, but we felt we had to find out for sure," said trainer Tim McCanna. "Now we know, so we'll keep him sprinting at least through this meeting."

EDMONTON, Alberta - Moe's Hoedown, with Mike Iammarino aboard, will seek her second victory of the season Sunday at Northlands Park, when she runs against $28,000 claiming fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs.

All five of Moe's Hoedown's opponents are winless this season.

Trained by Deanna Walper, Moe's Hoedown was second in her latest start, a race for $28,000 claimers July 22. Two of her rivals Sunday, Beausox and Tuktoyaktuk, were third and fifth in that race.

Craig Faine will be back aboard Beausox, and Real Simard will retain the mount on Tuktoyaktuk.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - The Oceanport Handicap and the Matchmaker Stakes, a pair of Grade 3 races to be run on the turf, head a strong undercard supporting Sunday's Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Continued good health tops jockey Joe Bravo's wish list.

A win in the $1 million Haskell Invitational with Lion Heart on Sunday at Monmouth Park runs a close second.

Bravo is riding in fine form this season at Monmouth. He is again leading the standings in a bid for a 10th title at the track he calls home.

And Bravo finally gets to ride a favorite in the Haskell.

This could be a season to remember for Bravo, who was born in nearby Long Branch. It all starts with a body that has healed after three injury-filled years.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Tears were flowing by the bucket when trainer Terry Clyde greeted 2-year-old filly Backseat Becka in the winner's circle following her upset victory in the B.C. Cup Debutante last Monday at Hastings. It was Clyde's first stakes win at a major track, and the enormity of the situation caught up with her.

AUBURN, Wash. - Best on Tap ran so well in the April 25 Seattle Handicap at six furlongs, finishing a closing second to the heavily favored Willie the Cat, that trainer Doug Driever ran him back against Willie the Cat in the May 23 Fox Sports Net Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs. On that occasion, Best on Tap attempted to hook the faster Willie the Cat and paid a steep price, tiring to finish eighth.

That's when Driever made a key decision, dropping Best on Tap, a 4-year-old, out of the stakes ranks for a pair of engagements against $25,000 optional claiming company.