ARCADIA, Calif. - Fade to Blue, a $25,000 claim in April 2000, continues to reap awards for owner Richard Englander and trainer Nick Canani.

In the last 2 1/2 years, he has won four races and more than $200,000. More recently, Fade to Blue has been competitive in races for $40,000 to $50,000 claimers, making him eligible for Saturday's first race on the California Cup program at Santa Anita - the $50,000 Starter Handicap over 1 1/2 miles on turf.

It is a race Fade to Blue will be favored to win.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The newly created $100,000 California Cup Distance Handicap will have no shortage of starters when it is launched Saturday at Santa Anita.

There were 11 fillies and mares entered for the turf race over 1 1/4 miles. For one of them, a victory would be a first. None is a winner over the distance, and only the longshot Exclusiveandcatty has tried the extended distance.

The Distance Handicap replaces a starter handicap previously run over 1 1/4 miles on turf for claimers.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Amber Hills, Miss Nicolie, and Summer Wind Dancer have all won stakes for California-bred 2-year-old fillies since Labor Day.

In their brief careers, none has scored two stakes wins, but they are the leading contenders to clear that hurdle in Saturday's $125,000 California Cup Juvenile Fillies over 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. - No one was laughing when Crackup got beat. Favored at 2-1 in a Cal-bred sprint in his last start, the 2-year-old son of Distorted Humor lost position early, had only one horse beaten after a quarter-mile, and was left with too much to do.

Crackup finished third, beaten a length. After the race, jockey Tyler Baze offered no alibi to trainer Rafael Becerra. "He admitted it; he said he screwed up," Becerra said.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Jenine Sahadi is taking an extra precaution with Spinelessjellyfish for Saturday's $175,000 California Cup Mile at Santa Anita.

Frustrated by an 11-race losing streak, the longest of Spinelessjellyfish's career, Sahadi is equipping the 6-year-old horse with blinkers for the first time since March.

The change could give Spinelessjellyfish his first victory since the California Turf Championship Handicap at Bay Meadows in September 2001.

"I worry about him being discouraged," Sahadi said.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Top of Our Game can either salvage the California Cup card for trainer Carla Gaines and owner John Harris, or add icing to the cake when she runs Saturday in race 7, the $150,000 Cal Cup Distaff.

ARCADIA, Calif. - For most of the year, Super High has made her mark on turf, winning three stakes against both statebreds and open company. Saturday, in the $150,000 California Cup Matron at Santa Anita, the 3-year-old Super High can prove she does not need a grass surface to find the winner's circle.

Facing a modest field, Super High will go favored in the Matron, run over 1 1/16 miles on dirt. In her last start on the main track in April, Super High finished second in the Melair Stakes on Gold Rush Day at Hollywood Park.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A week after the country's best younger horses were showcased in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in Chicago, another group of promising 2-year-olds will seek the limelight in Saturday's $100,000-added Nashua at Aqueduct.

A competitive field of eight colts entered the Grade 3 Nashua, a mile dirt race. Among the starters are the Cowdin winner and runner-up, Boston Bull and Roaring Fever, and the undefeated Added Edge.

How do you treat a horse with a ton of back class who's returning from a long layoff and prepping for a bigger target down the road?

That's the question handicappers must answer when deciding whether to support Red Bullet at a short price or try to beat him in Saturday's $55,000 Foggy Road Stakes at Delaware Park.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Looking for a winner in Saturday's $150,000 Knickerbocker Handicap at Aqueduct? Then you better study hard.

The Grade 2 Knickerbocker, a 1 1/8-mile grass race, is a wide-open affair. Nine entered the main body of the Grade 2 Knickerbocker. Four horses are entered for main-track only.

North East Bound is the 117-pound highweight and the most accomplished member of the field, but he has lost his last three starts and could be a vulnerable favorite.

Jose Velez Jr. rides North East Bound, who looms the main speed.