HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trust N Luck's easy victory in the Grade 1 Fountain of Youth Stakes and second-place finish behind Empire Maker in the Grade 1 Florida Derby have him firmly entrenched as one of the leading Kentucky Derby candidates in the country. But after conferring with owner E. Paul Robsham Thursday, trainer Ralph Ziadie said the Derby is now one of two options they are considering for the colt.

Sky Soldier has won his only two starts by a combined margin of eight lengths. But because he's based at Penn National and has never been beyond six furlongs, Sky Soldier won't attract much attention when he ships to Laurel Park for Saturday's $60,000 Private Terms Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.

A 3-year-old colt trained by Todd Beattie, Sky Soldier may offer some betting value in a race with just five betting interests. He's listed as the 6-1 outsider on the track's morning line.

EAST BOSTON, Mass. - What started out as a division dominated by one filly has turned into a wide-open rivalry, which resumes with Massachusetts-bred 3-year-olds of both sexes squaring off Saturday in the $35,000 African Prince Stakes.

Coming into this year, Jill's Layup was the reigning star, with Glory Be Good having emerged late in 2002 to challenge her. After one race between the two fillies this year, Glory Be Good has inched to the front with a victory in the Mystery Jet Stakes for statebred 3-year-old fillies three weeks ago.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mapp Hill and Expected Flirt, both nominated to the April 6 Jacques Cartier Stakes, will meet former champion Mr. Epperson and classy Praise From Dixie in the sixth race Saturday, a rare weekend card at Woodbine without a stakes race.

Devil Valentine, Line of Defense, and Four Alert were also entered in the $80,000 optional claimer, which will be run at five furlongs for a purse of $67,200.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Scotty McCulloch is a survivor.

McCulloch won a battle with cancer a couple of years ago and was galloping horses at Fort Erie last fall despite being hindered severely by a bad hip. So it is no surprise that McCulloch is back on full throttle here as the private trainer for owner Herbert Chambers.

McCulloch actually is in his second incarnation as private trainer for Chambers, for whom he handled stakes winners Mips and Flashy Dr. Don and stakes-placed Sararegal and Deputy Herculean before owner and trainer parted company in June 2000.

The sky seems the limit for Ifyouprefersilver, who has five wins in six starts, including a 9 1/4-length dismantling of seven rivals in the Chou Croute Handicap at Fair Grounds last month. A daughter of Silver Deputy, Ifyouprefersilver seeks her third consecutive stakes win Saturday in the $100,000 Lady Hallie Handicap at Hawthorne in Stickney, Ill.

Ifyouprefersilver is the highweight at 118 pounds, and will face just four opponents in the 1 1/16-mile race for older fillies and mares.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Sky Mesa, forced out of the Kentucky Derby picture due to a bruised heel, is back galloping on a regular basis at Palm Beach Downs, trainer John Ward said Wednesday.

"He's been galloping for about 10 days and seems to be doing well," said Ward. "In fact he's really gone exceptionally well the last few days and I'm hoping to be able to get a work into him before we leave here for Kentucky next week."

ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer James Chapman was happy when he called Golden Gate Fields and found a one-mile race for Western Pride.

The $100,000, Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap is scheduled for Saturday, and that looked like a perfect comeback spot for Western Pride, who has earned more than $1 million but hasn't run since last May in Singapore.

But Chapman wasn't so happy when he saw the weight assignments for the race. Western Pride was given 120 pounds, while local star Halo Cat, who has won two straight overnight stakes, was given 117.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Shameful ended a six-race losing streak in stakes with a come-from-behind victory in Wednesday's $78,650 Pine Tree Lane Stakes at Santa Anita.

Shameful ($20.40) ran the six furlongs in 1:10.31, finishing a length in front of Wild Tickle. Brisquette, the even-money favorite, finished third, but had a troubled trip through the stretch. She was stuck behind fading pacesetter Secret Liaison and inside of Shameful in the final furlong and made no impression once clear.

The record purses paid by Delta Downs in Vinton, La., fueled mainly by slot machines, made for a highly profitable meet for Steve Bourque, who defended his riding title, and co-leading trainers Doris Hebert and Keith Bourgeois.

The meet, which opened Nov. 7, closed Sunday with average daily purses of $230,000. Only two years earlier, Delta paid out a mere $40,000 a day in its mixed meet that featured Thoroughbreds.