ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - It took six races, but Mr. Mellon put everything together Saturday in the , beating Doc Holiday by a neck in a rousing stretch duel.

The Grade 2 win validated the high expectations Mr. Mellon was tagged with long before he raced. Mr. Mellon sold for $950,000 as a yearling, a tremendous price for a colt by Red Ransom. His dam, Mackie, sold for $5 million in 2000 while in foal to Mr. Prospector, and his second dam, Glowing Tribute, is one of the finest broodmares in recent history.

MIAMI - Last Saturday, Eclipse Award winning owner-breeder Michael Sherman went home shaking his head. He had watched his promising 3-year-old Kingmaker stumble and lose jockey Manny Aguilar leaving the starting gate in the $100,000 Unbridled Stakes. This Saturday Sherman went home to celebrate after Aguilar guided 2-year-old filly Heavenly Miss to an impressive 1 1/4-length victory over 8-5 favorite Crimson and Roses in the $100,000 J j'sdream Stakes at Calder.

MIAMI - It has been four years since Ric Squartino's riding career was sidetracked because of a weight problem, and the former jockey still tipped the scales at 140 pounds when he decided to attempt a comeback earlier this year.

Squartino has shed 25 pounds over the past three months and easily tacked the 118 pounds his mount Three Minute Call carried to a fifth-place finish in Saturday's second race at Calder Race Course. Squartino lost the weight in an unusual way: by working as a cook in a restaurant.

Desert Darby won the $125,000 Assault Stakes at Lone Star Park on Saturday in his first start back from a layoff of nearly a year. The 1 1/16-mile race for Texas-breds was the richest of six restricted stakes on the program that made up the second annual Stars of Texas Day.

Logan's Leo finished three-quarters of a length behind Desert Darby in second, while it was another three-quarters of a length back in third to 3-5 favorite Lights on Broadway. Desert Demon broke down on the backstretch and threw rider Anthony Lovato, who suffered possible lacerations to his lip and tongue.

ALTOONA, Iowa - Sharky's Review took advantage of a hot early pace and rallied to score by a widening 3 3/4 lengths in Friday's Hawkeyes Handicap for Iowa-bred fillies and mares at Prairie Meadows. This is the second straight year that Sharky's Review has won the Hawkeyes.

Sumthintotalkabout sprinted clear early in the 1 1/16-mile race and went a half-mile in a quick 45.95 seconds. During the early going jockey Luis Quinonez had Sharky's Review racing in fifth position in the seven-horse field, nearly 10 lengths off the leader.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - The road to the Bison City winner's circle should be paved with Ginger Gold.

After her convincing win in the 1 1/8-mile Labatt Woodbine Oaks on June 8, it's no secret Ginger Gold is the one to beat here in Monday's 1 1/16-mile Labatt Bison City.

The 10-race program at Fort Erie Monday, which begins at 1:05 p.m. Eastern, also features the $60,000 Centre Stage Anne for Canadian-bred fillies and mares who have started at least twice at the meeting.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Callendars, one of two 3-year-olds in a field of seven, will almost certainly be favored in Monday's $60,000 Centre Stage Anne Stakes at Fort Erie.

The Centre Stage Anne, a six-furlong race restricted to Canadian-bred fillies and mares, is the supporting feature on Monday's Bison City Stakes program.

Owned by Eugene and Laura Melnyk and trained by Phil England, Callendars returns to the site where she has scored both of her lifetime wins.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Cathy's Star and Miss Sandy Dee, the co-highweights at 123 pounds, will break from opposite ends of the starting gate here in Monday's $30,000 Canada Day Stakes for fillies and mares at one mile.

Miss Sandy Dee, last year's top local older mare, rides a four-race winning streak into the Canada Day. Her last loss ccame in this race a year ago when she finished fifth.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - First-time starter Frankiefourfingers led all the way in the $164,550 Clarendon Stakes for Canadian-bred 2-year-olds Saturday at Woodbine.

Favored Brighton Ridge, a first-timer who cost $1 million as a yearling, broke slowly in the 5 1/2-furlong dash. Frankiefourfingers set fractions of 22.28 and 46.03 seconds while being tracked by Lucky Larue, who finished two lengths behind in second. Magic Jack was third, while Brighton Ridge rallied belatedly to be fourth. The final time was 1:05.26 over a fast track.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Can any of the other six horses entered in the $75,000 Lieutenant Governors' on Monday beat Kid Katabatic? Probably not, but two trainers, Terry Marshall and Steve Bryant, think that Prodigious has an excellent shot in the 1 1/8-mile Hastings Park feature.

Kim Hart, the owner of Prodigious, employs both Marshall and Bryant as his trainers. Marshall, who has horses stabled here and in northern California, has been the main caretaker of Prodigious, but when Hart's horses run here, they race under Bryant's name.