In at least one important respect, Saturday's John Battaglia Memorial is an apt preview to the Lane's End Stakes: The out-of-towners are ready and willing to ship to Turfway Park to run.
Except for the Louisville-based standout, Silver Minister, the major contenders in the $100,000 have traveled from well beyond the boundaries of Kentucky. An influx of highly regarded invaders almost always appears for the $500,000 Lane's End, the Turfway showcase that will be run March 20.
Capac was regarded highly enough to be included among the 23 individual entries in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, ranking 15th at closing odds of 38-1. But until Capac proves he can handle two turns against stakes-caliber competition, he can't be considered a serious Derby candidate.
A 3-year-old colt, Capac takes the first small step toward that goal when he goes against a modest field of 3-year-olds in Saturday's $40,000 Miracle Wood at Laurel Park. The Miracle Wood will be Capac's stakes debut and first race beyond seven furlongs.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The winners of three of the seven stakes held this meet at Oaklawn have come from trainer Bob Holthus's barn, and he has a good chance to add to his record Saturday when he starts the capable entry of Pro Prado and Proper Prado in the $100,000 .
Holthus will have both ends covered in the one-mile race for 3-year-olds. Pro Prado has good speed, while Proper Prado is a strong closer. Both are coming off strong races at Oaklawn.
Leslie's Love, who has won five of her last eight starts, will return to turf Saturday night for the $30,000 Willowbrook Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park.
A five-furlong grass race, the Willowbrook drew a full field of 12.
Leslie's Love is the one to beat. She has won 10 of 22 starts on turf, with her last win on the surface coming in an allowance at Fair Grounds in December. She went from dirt to turf for that race, which is the same move she makes Saturday night. Leslie's Love last raced at Delta Downs, winning the $100,000 Louisiana Premier Night Matron on Feb. 7.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Mistda, who had an excuse when she lost the Nijana Stakes as the favorite on Feb. 11, gets a chance to redeem herself in Saturday's $75,000-added Busher Stakes at Aqueduct.
Exclusively Wild, the four-length winner of the Nijana, also is entered in the 1 1/16-mile Busher for 3-year-old fillies.
face five others, including Taittinger Rose, who was third in the Nijana, and Please Take Me Out, the winner of the Miss Grillo Stakes on the grass last year.
STICKNEY, Ill. - Injuries are never good, but if ever there was an opportune time for a jockey to incur one, Cruz Contreras found it.
On Jan. 3, Contreras, 21, suffered a severe knee contusion in a starting-gate accident at Hawthorne. Contreras finished the race but required immediate medical attention afterward.
ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer may have the numbers, with three of the six entrants in Saturday's $55,000-added San Carlos Handicap at Golden Gate Fields.
Trainer Doug O'Neill may have the speed, with Smile N Wildcat, who will attempt to go one mile for the first time.
But in Onebadshark and Jets Fan, trainers Brian Koriner and Brent Sumja may have the horses to beat.
Hollendorfer enters Gold Ruckus, who won four straight, including the Lafayette Handicap on New Year's Day, before finishing third on the turf in the Tanforan Handicap in his last start.
PHOENIX, Ariz. - It's a classic handicapping dilemma: back class or current form? Saturday's $40,000 Palo Verde Handicap for 3-year-olds at 6 1/2 furlongs at Turf Paradise pits two-time stakes winner Bold Merit, returning from more than two months on the shelf, against the sharp King Justin, winner of the Old Line Policy Stakes here Feb. 13. In all, a field of 10 is entered.
In a reflection of declining handle at Southern California tracks in the last year, the purses of eight stakes have been reduced for the Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting from April 21 to July 18.
In addition, the major stakes for fillies and mares on dirt have been rearranged, and one of the races, the Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap, has been increased in value from $200,000 to $250,000.
The reductions reflect lower handle expectations for the Hollywood Park meeting. Last fall, the track reduced purses by 8 percent for the final three weeks of the meeting.