ARCADIA, Calif. - Halfbridled, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2003, will miss a scheduled start in Sunday's $250,000 Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita after trainer Richard Mandella said he was not satisfied with her recent training.

Mandella said he made the decision to pass the Las Virgenes after Halfbridled worked seven furlongs in 1:26.60 last Thursday, and he discussed the situation with the filly's owners, Alain and Gerard Wertheimer.

Mandella emphasized that Halfbridled is not fighting soundness problems.

"I just want to give her more time," he said.

ALBANY, Calif. - Even though Bending Strings, a filly meeting colts, didn't win the Golden State Mile on Sunday, it was certainly Cinderella Day at Golden Gate Fields.

Bending Strings ran second to O.K. Mikie in the Golden State Mile as the favorite. It was not only her first race against males, but also her first race around two turns. Her future may be brightest among the eight 3-year-olds in the race.

Nevertheless, O.K. Mikie's victory had to bring smiles to anyone who likes underdogs.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Tom Van Berg, whose father and grandfather are Hall of Fame trainers, is the third generation of his family to race at Oaklawn Park. He is new to the meet, and brought a small string of horses to town for the stakes program.

Van Berg will take his first swing at such competition when he starts Salzurita in Saturday's $50,000 Pippin Stakes. A steppingstone to the Grade 1, $500,000 Apple Blossom, the Pippin is the first of two stakes this weekend.

Jockey Shane Sellers dominated the $1 million Louisiana Premier Night at Delta Downs on Saturday by winning the $200,000 Championship with Spritely Walker, the $150,000 Distaff with Destiny Calls, and the $100,000 Sprint with Zarb's Luck.

The stakes were three of the richest on the Louisiana-bred program, which featured 10 races worth a cumulative $1 million. There were nine winning favorites on a card which generated $2.1 million in handle.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Ben Perkins Jr. hopes to end an unusually long winter drought Wednesday at Aqueduct when he sends out in the $60,000 Nijana Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

The Nijana, run at 1 1/16 miles, is the eighth race on a nine-race card that includes a pick six carryover of $32,792.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Richard Dutrow Jr., the leading trainer at Aqueduct's inner track meet, voluntarily scratched all four of his runners from Sunday's card because he feared they would test positive for the banned race-day substance clenbuterol.

Speaking from Florida on Monday, Dutrow said his assistants informed him that the four runners had been treated with clenbuterol, a bronchial dilator, too close to race day. Many horsemen train their horses on clenbuterol, but the medication must be out of a horse's system by race day.

SUNLAND PARK, N. M. - Steve Asmussen is off to a sensational start in 2004, leading the nation's trainers in both wins and earnings, while dominating the standings at three tracks simultaneously: Fair Grounds, Sam Houston and Sunland Park. However, Asmussen had quietly gone zero-for-nine in Sunland stakes, an anomaly put to rest on Sunday afternoon when local Asmussen assistant Tony Mathiasen sent out an uncoupled three-horse entry that swept the win-place-show spots in the $50,000-added for older distaffers.

ALBANY, Calif. - O.K. Mikie ($10.80) scored a Cinderella victory, edging past favored Bending Strings in the final 100 yards of the $83,175 at Golden Gate Fields on Sunday.

The one-half length victory provided O.K. Mikie, a $25,000 claim in a six-way shake on Nov. 7, trainer Jerry McArthur and owner Charles Lo with the first stakes victories in their careers.

O.K. Mikie was last early as Point Dume set comfortable fractions of 23.28 and 46.89 seconds. He began to move up on his own at the three-eighths pole, angling between Trish's Diamond and Kilgowan.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Master David, the subject of a massive late bet, earned a trip to the Florida Derby with a win in Sunday's $81,400 at Santa Anita.

Action This Day, the champion 2-year-old male of 2003, finished fourth, 1 1/4 lengths behind Master David. The Sham Stakes was Action This Day's first start since his upset win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.

Master David ($4.20) was 2-1 when the gate opened, but his odds plunged to 11-10 in the final flash, which was shown to the public when the field was in the first turn.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - On paper and on the tote board, Sunday's $100,000 at Gulfstream was a two horse race. And for five furlongs that was the case.

But in the end, Randaroo turned the seven furlong Shirley Jones into a one horse runaway, easily pulling away from defending champion Harmony Lodge for a 7 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 dash.