ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A field of eight horses - four Europeans, three Canadians, and one American - will go in Sunday's $1.5 million Canadian International at Woodbine.

The 1 1/2-mile Canadian International will be one of two Grade 1 turf stakes on Sunday's program, along with the $750,000 E.P. Taylor for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles.

Zindabad, who finished third in last year's International but was disqualified to sixth for causing interference, returns this year in good form and is Daily Racing Form's 5-2 morning line choice.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Full fields in the Jack Diamond and Sadie Diamond futurities highlight a 13-race program at Hastings Park Saturday. Both 6 1/2-furlong races are worth $100,000 and are restricted to 2-year-olds foaled in Canada.

Illusive Force will be one of the favorites in the Jack Diamond Futurity, which drew 10 colts and geldings. He started his career in the New Westminster Stakes Aug. 24, and was beaten 3 1/2 lengths by Bullseye Bill, who is also entered Saturday and will likely receive heavy support.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Sam Steele, the 118-pound topweight, will take a winning streak of three into the $11,700 final of the Northlands marathon series Saturday.

A field of seven will run 1 5/8 miles, the longest race of the Alberta season.

Sam Steele's most recent victory was in the 1 3/8-mile second leg of the Northlands marathon series, for horses racing for a claiming price of $5,500 to $11,000.

Maiden claimers are the bottom rung of racing's class ladder. It's usually a long climb from there to the classiest horses in the stakes ranks.

Trainer Scott Lake, who is well known for improving horses after they come under his care, came close to turning a maiden claimer into a six-figure stakes winner in one giant step.

Rachelle's Numbers, a 2-year-old filly Lake claimed for owner Richard Englander out of a victory at Saratoga last month for $75,000, came within a neck of winning last Saturday's $100,000 Maryland Million Lassie at Pimlico.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - One is a filly who never showed great ability in her training but has turned out to be a runner. The other is a filly who dropped hints she could be any kind of horse, but disappointed in her first couple of starts.

The first is Souris, the other Ashraaf, and one of them probably will be favored Saturday in a chaotic edition of the Grade 3, $100,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Silver Nithi, who ran well in all three legs of this year's Canadian 3-year-old filly series, heads Saturday's $141,375 La Lorgnette Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies at Woodbine.

Silver Nithi made her stakes debut on June 8 in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, and closed steadily to end up second to favored Ginger Gold. She turned the tables on that rival on July 1 in the second leg of the 3-year-old filly series, the Bison City Stakes at Fort Erie, blowing by her in deep stretch to win and earning a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Falcon Flight was unlucky here last fall when he was forced to check in the stretch of the Canadian International.

He was unluckier last month, when he was all fired up with nowhere to go approaching the finish of the Arlington Million.

Now Falcon Flight's trainer, Don Burke, can only hope the trip falls his way in Sunday's Canadian International, over 1 1/2 miles on the E.P. Taylor turf course.

EAST BOSTON, Mass. - Suffolk Downs opens its autumn meeting Saturday with purses up 10 percent from the end of the spring meet. The meeting runs for 56 days, ending Dec. 23.

The purse increase comes from a racing bill passed last year. There were two increases earlier in 2002, and more than $3.3 million has been generated by the legislation in the 10 months since it was signed. Track management is hoping this shot in the arm will result in a boost to the bottom line.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Trainer John Simms had trouble getting someone to ride Original One in the mornings when the gelding came into his barn in the spring of last year.

Original One, nicknamed Jack - he has one eye - was a 5-year-old maiden with 18 starts.

The horse had been kicked in the head by his dam as a weanling, leading to the loss of the eye, and also suffered from a bad back.

The combination of ailments caused Jack to develop a funny way of moving, because he always had his head cranked sideways.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - The Hillsborough Handicap used to be one of the highlights of the racing calendar at Bay Meadows.

With its $100,000 purse and Grade 3 status, the Hillsborough usually attracted its share of top turf runners.

Although the purse has been dropped to $60,000 added, Saturday's edition of the Hillsborough Handicap will be as contentious as ever as a full field of 12 fillies and mares were entered for the 1 1/16-mile race over the turf.