Winnipeg, Manitoba - Pete's Surprise and Ocean Effect will likely vie for favorite status among eight runners in Sunday's $35,000 Assiniboia Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.

Pete's Surprise, owned by Fred Bennett and trained by Jack Robertson, comes into the 1 1/16-mile Oaks off a two-length victory in the one-mile Manitoba Distaff in restricted company on Sept. 1.

A daughter of Peteski,, Pete's Surprise finished second to Ocean Effect, beaten half a length two starts ago in open company going a mile. Nevertheless, she does appear to be improving.

Sam Houston Race Park in Houston will be the site of the 2004 running of the MBNA America Challenge Championship, the American Quarter Horse Association announced Thursday. The series, a Breeders' Cup-style championship card for Quarter Horses made up of six divisional stakes worth a total of more than $1 million, will be held at date yet to be specified in the fall of 2004.

ELMONT, N.Y. - When owner Will Farish and trainer Neil Howard decided to give Mineshaft a brief freshening this summer, it may have been more for them than their horse.

"It was bothering Mr. Farish and I more than it was bothering him if he needed a break or not, which is why we skipped the Whitney and decided to be more judicious by him,'' Howard said.

His mini-vacation over, Mineshaft starts back down the road to the Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday when he takes on four rivals in the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. - A popular handicapping guide noted that trainer Allen Jerkens hadn't won with a first-time starter at Saratoga in the last nine meets, a staggering 0 for 44. So all Jerkens did this summer at the Spa was pop with a pair of first-time starters at boxcar mutuels.

ELMONT, N.Y. - There are basically four 3-year-old fillies in the running for divisional honors. Three of them will be running in Saturday's $250,000 Gazelle Handicap at Belmont Park.

While Kentucky Oaks and Acorn winner Bird Town skips the Gazelle for a race next month, Alabama winner Island Fashion, Test winner Lady Tak, and multiple Grade 1 winner Spoken Fur meet in the Gazelle, the final Grade 1 dirt route of the season restricted to 3-year-old fillies.

ELMONT, N.Y. - The odds have been in the double digits when Whitmore's Conn won his last two starts, the Grade 2 Bowling Green and Grade 1 Sword Dancer.

The odds don't figure to be as good on Saturday when Whitmore's Conn, a New York-bred, shoots for his third consecutive graded win in the $500,000 Man o' War at Belmont Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Funny Cide took a big step toward a normal training routine on Thursday when he jogged once around Belmont Park's main track.

Funny Cide hasn't run since finishing third in the Haskell at Monmouth Park on Aug. 3. After the Haskell, Funny Cide had a fever. The results of a series of blood tests done on the gelding during the Saratoga meet weren't to trainer Barclay Tagg's satisfaction. Funny Cide was entered in the Travers on Aug. 23, but the day before the race he was scratched because mucus was detected in his trachea, and he hasn't trained since.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Perhaps the $300,000 Del Mar Derby on Saturday will establish a top 3-year-old turf male in California.

Throughout the year, there has been no dominant colt or gelding in that division. Devious Boy, Just Wonder, Private Chef, Singletary, Steelaninch, and Sweet Return have all won turf stakes since the first of April.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The $75,000 Pirate's Bounty Handicap at Del Mar on Saturday may only be a restricted sprint, but the race could have implications for two major stakes at Santa Anita in October - the Ancient Title Handicap and the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Avanzado, the defending champion and the winner of the Palos Verdes Handicap in January, will start as the 120-pound topweight in the six-furlong Pirate's Bounty. A victory could lead to a start in the Grade 1 Ancient Title on Oct. 5.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Bubblegum Kid will attempt to defend his title in the Grade 3, $100,000 Speed to Spare Championship here Saturday.

Trained by Joan Petrowski and ridden by Rickey Walcott, Bubblegum Kid faces eight rivals in the 1 3/8-mile race, including two invaders from Hastings.

Bubblegum Kid appears to be ready for a peak effort in the Speed to Spare after finishing third in the 1 1/16-mile Klondike and second in the 1 5/16-mile Westerner. Walcott also rode Bubblegum Kid in the 2002 Speed to Spare.