ALBANY, Calif. - An argument could be made that the horse of this Golden Gate meeting will be on display in Friday's feature race.

If Miz Kool isn't the horse of the meet, she's at least the leading claimer, with five wins in five, starting with a win for a $6,250 claiming tag on Nov. 9. On Friday, she will have a tough test in a field of seven older fillies and mares going six furlongs in an allowance race.

Trainer Bill Delia hopes the combination of her sharpness and love for the Golden Gate main track will lead to a victory.

Trainer Chris Block said his undefeated 3-year-old colt Cashel Castle is in good shape following his allowance win over older horses last Sunday at Sportsman's Park and is on schedule for the Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland on April 7.

As of Wednesday morning, Block had not seen the videotape of Cashel Castle's race. Block was at Tampa Bay Downs last Sunday, but Sportsman's does not send its simulcast signal to Tampa.

A pair of Thoroughbred senior citizens helped generate a $4,691 superfecta in Monday's fifth race at Mountaineer Park.

Victory Tower ($20), a 12-year-old gelding trained by octogenarian Elmer Damron, led wire to wire to win the six-furlong sprint for $4,000 claimers by 3 1/4 lengths. It was Victory Tower's 30th lifetime victory in 165 starts and his 24th win at Mountaineer.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - Rider Ken Shino closed out last weekend's action at Fonner Park by winning four races both Saturday and Sunday. He has now accomplished the feat three times during the meet.

VINTON, La. - Delta Downs's second leading jockey, Guy Smith, will have to put his quest for the track's riding title on hold this week.

Smith has the call on Triple Five, a 5-year-old Arabian mare entered in the $250,000 Dubai Kahayla Classic, the world's richest race for Arabians and part of Saturday's Dubai World Cup card at Nad Al Sheba.

Smith left for Dubai on Wednesday and will not return until March 28.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Since she arrived in this country last August, Golden Apples has never had an easy race. The $150,000 Santa Ana Handicap on Saturday at Santa Anita will continue that trend.

Trained by Ben Cecil for Gary Tanaka, was one of the nation's top 3-year-old turf fillies last summer and fall, winning the Del Mar Oaks and Las Palmas Handicap, finishing second in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, and third in the Matriarch Stakes. She was competitive against her own age group and older fillies and mares.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - After making it through the entire winter without scrapping a single card, Aqueduct canceled its final eight races Wednesday - the first day of spring - because of unsafe track conditions. Following an eventful first race, the jockeys told management they would not ride the remainder of the card.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Trainer Erik Juvonen seeks his first New York stakes win with Short Note in Saturday's $100,000-added Cicada at Aqueduct. If Short Note gets the job done, it would be a good omen for Juvonen, who plans to extend his winter stay in New York to a year-round presence on the circuit.

Juvonen, a former assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, has been in New York since Dec. 1 and has complied a respectable record of 5-6-6 from 41 starters, with all his winners coming since Jan. 1.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Horse vans will begin rolling out the stable gate in earnest over the next two weeks as New York- and Kentucky-based horsemen head home after another winter in south Florida.

Among the first to vacate the premises will be trainers Pat Byrne and Nick Zito.

Byrne is heading north on a high after Ethan Man's huge performance in last Saturday's Swale Stakes. Zito had an outstanding winter meet but leaves with a bit of a sour taste after his main Kentucky Derby hopeful, High Star, bled in the Florida Derby.

A little more than six weeks ago, it looked like Jeremy's Quest was headed the wrong way. She lost for a $25,000 claiming tag, was dropped in for $20,000 and ran worse, then showed up for $10,000. She won that race in a runaway on Feb. 1, and has been on a roll since.

Jeremy's Quest was triple-jumped, to the $20,000 claiming level, on Feb. 23, won impressively again, and was claimed for the second straight time. Her new trainer is Bill Spawr, who is deadly when he jumps a horse.