ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Many observers have been surprised by the training regimen Phoenix Reach has been following since arriving here last Sunday for the Canadian International.

Phoenix Reach, who is trained in England by Andrew Balding, was one of the first horses on the track when he went out at 6 a.m. Monday and Wednesday. But that did not mean his work was done, as the colt returned on both of those afternoons to canter on the turf course.

Simon Burgoyne, an assistant to Balding, seemed taken aback by the curiosity about Phoenix Reach's activities.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - In-form allowance runners Hanlan and Festive Spirit should have an edge if the turf has some give to it for Saturday's $144,750 Bunty Lawless Stakes, a one-mile race for Ontario-sired runners at Woodbine.

Hanlan was a very good fourth over soft ground in the 2002 Bunty Lawless, beaten just two lengths after dueling through fast fractions. He began his current campaign with two dreadful races on the main track, but has blossomed in his last three races on the grass, finishing second each time.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - On the Fritz, ridden by Robby Albarado, angled to the rail and was up in the final jumps to nail Brown Eyed Beauty by a head in the $85,425 Clark County Stakes at Keeneland on Thursday.

On the Fritz, a 5-year-old mare owned by Woodlynn Farm and trained by Jimmy Baker, returned $13.80 as fourth choice in a field of 10 fillies and mares. Victory in the Clark County was her first of the year, first in a stakes, and fifth in 22 overall starts.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Nobody could have known at the time, but last year's Sleepy Hollow Stakes for New York-bred juveniles turned out to be more significant than the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

While the top three finishers from last year's BC Juvenile have a combined record of 1-8 and just one graded stakes win since then, the top-three finishers from last year's Sleepy Hollow - Funny Cide, Spite the Devil, and Go Rockin' Robin - have combined to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Withers, and Peter Pan Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Never mind the well-matched capacity field. What most concerns nearly every trainer of the 14 horses in Saturday's $125,000 Iroquois Stakes at Belmont Park is the seven-furlong distance.

It's one furlong longer than the standard American sprint race and at least one furlong shorter than the typical two-turn route. Sprinters are required to hold their speed another eighth of a mile; routers are supposed to sharpen up and stay closer to the pace.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Irish Colonial and I'm All Yours, the highweights in Saturday's $150,000 Mohawk Handicap, are each coming off layoffs, making the white-hot Quantum Merit the horse to beat.

Twelve New York-bred males entered the 1 1/8-mile Mohawk, which will be run on the inner turf. My Legal Alien is an also-eligible.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Daniel Boudreau, an apprentice who is in ninth place in the rider standings here with 41 wins, had his first spill in Monday's fourth race, when his mount, Emily Nicole, fell just after crossing the finish line.

"I fell on my shoulder, knee, and back," said Boudreau. "It's the first time I went down. It was a weird feeling. I had no time to get scared. It was in the blink of an eye. You roll and hope. She just touched my left foot."

Boudreau said he was okay after the spill and rode his other two mounts on the card.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Angel Gift and Lost at Sea, a pair of talented runners seeking their first victories of 2003, are the ones to beat in a field of six older fillies and mares in Saturday's $60,000-added Golden Poppy Handicap.

Angel Gift is the defending champion in the 1 1/16-mile race. She has two third-place finishes in four starts this year.

Lost at Sea, who developed into a Grade 1 participant last year, has a pair of seconds in three starts this year.

French Charmer stands out Saturday in the $100,000 Flying Pidgeon Handicap, a 1 1/8-mile grass race at Calder. But his trainer, Harry Benson, has been around too long not to worry.

Benson and French Charmer's principle owner, Joseph Sweedler, go back more than 50 years in the horse business. "We started out with a $2,500 claimer, and this summer [Sweedler] has won five stakes," Benson said Thursday afternoon.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Sleeters will soon hunker down for the winter, laying up their stable of New Jersey-breds at the family farm in Clementon, N.J.

"We'll just stop racing and rest everybody up," said owner Gerry Sleeter, who works closely with son Kevin, the trainer of the operation.

Before the Sleeter stable heads into hibernation, several objectives are still on the horizon, including the $40,000 Girl Powder Stakes on Saturday night at The Meadowlands.