VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The time seems to have arrived for Victor's Secret, who figures to be a very short favorite in the Brighouse Belles this Saturday at Hastings.

A 5-year-old mare, Victor's Secret ran in the shadows of Shelby Madison last year, and it appeared she would have to take second fiddle to Dancewithavixen in the filly and mare division at Hastings this season. If her two starts this year are any indication, however, Victor's Secret could be the one they're chasing for divisional honors this season.

ALTOONA, Iowa - The top six finishers from the May 15 John Wayne Stakes here return as part of a field of 12 Iowa-bred colts and geldings in Saturday's $70,000 Cyclones Handicap at Prairie Meadows.

The top five finishers in the John Wayne, run at six furlongs, were separated by one length, with Take Me Up rallying from 12 lengths back at the quarter pole to get up in the final strides for a nose victory.

SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Nine 3-year old fillies were entered in Saturday's $40,000 Northbound Pride Stakes, formerly known as the Canterbury Oaks. The 1 1/16-mile race is scheduled for the turf course although none of the entrants has yet proven successful on the grass.

COLLINSVILLE, Ill - Beau Watch and Valida, an entry from Kentucky-based trainer Eric Reed, will ship in as the 6-5 favorites for the $30,000 Ruffian Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies at Fairmount Park.

NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Trainer Rod Madrigal Sr. entered Ohio-bred champion mare Ashwood C C in the $45,000 Merry Time Stakes only 12 hours after she finished third in the Golden Sylvia Handicap at Mountaineer Park on Tuesday night.

Madrigal has trained Ashwood C C throughout her career. In 43 races she has a 17-13-5 record for earnings of $547,463.

If Madrigal does indeed run Ashwood C C, she will undoubtedly leave the gate as the odds-on choice over eight Ohio-bred rivals. Her regular rider, Luis Gonzalez, has the mount at 122 pounds.

LINCOLN, Neb. - Irish Flyer will defend her title in the $15,000-added Matchmaker Handicap when she takes on six others, including an entry, in the one-mile test for older Nebraska-bred fillies and mares.

The undefeated 3-year-old Be a Bono will take his first crack at older runners when he starts in the race named after his owner, the Grade 1, $159,250 Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship at Los Alamitos on Saturday. The race is part of the fifth annual California Champions night, with $875,500 in purses.

The other two Grade 1 races on the program are the $334,000 Governor's Cup Futurity and the $122,000 Governor's Cup Derby.

The Grade 3, $42,840 Bayer Legend New Mexico Challenge and the $196,000 Ruidoso Quarter Horse Sale Futurity provide a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.

The New Mexico Challenge is headed by the quick-starting Royal Medallion. He raced to his third win from four starts this year when he won his trial by one length in the fastest qualifying time of 19.615 seconds for 400 yards.

The Sale Futurity is topped by fastest-qualifier WinMir, who turned in a very fast time of 17.281 seconds for 350 yards when he won his trial by 1 1/2 lengths.

A leg injury to the promising 2-year-old Creedence has prevented a landmark occurrence in Saturday's $334,000 Governor's Cup Futurity at Los Alamitos - full siblings of the same age, which are not twins, competing against one another.

The concept, which cannot occur in Thoroughbred racing, is a result of a rule change by the American Quarter Horse Association to allow more than one foal to be registered annually from the same mare. The rule change is part of a court settlement between the AQHA and cutting horse breeders, who wanted to register multiple foals from the same mare.

ELMONT, N.Y. - As a 2-year-old, Storm Flag Flying's raw talent was enough to overcome her mental instability.

In the morning, she would sometimes freeze on the track. In the afternoon, she could act up in the paddock or on the way to the post parade. But when it was time to run, Storm Flag Flying would do just that. She won all four of her starts at 2, capped by a gutsy win in the 2002 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies to earn an Eclipse Award as champion.