NEW ORLEANS - Apparently, Private Emblem is just as good on turf as he is on dirt. Third to two promising colts in the $150,000 Houston Texan Juvenile last month, Private Emblem made his grass debut Friday in the $75,000 Black Gold Handicap at Fair Grounds and beat Royalton by a head.

By the moderately successful stallion Our Emblem, who is not known as a grass influence, Private Emblem comes from a turf-loving family. His dam, Merion Miss, has now produced four horses who raced, and all have won on turf.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Just as she's about to be retired, Batique is reaching peak form.

For the second straight time in a Grade 3 stakes, Batique settled comfortably off a slow pace then came storming down the lane to win. Friday, Batique took charge in the final furlong under Jorge Chavez and drew off to a 2 3/4-length victory in the $100,000 Honey Fox Handicap run over a soft turf course and before 5,852 fans at chilly Gulfstream Park.

My Sweet Westly rallied for second, a neck in front of Silver Bandana.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla - The older handicap division is stacked here this winter, and several of the big horses will launch their campaigns in next Saturday's $100,000 Skip Away Handicap.

Among the prospective starters for the Grade 3 Skip Away are 2000 Preakness winner Red Bullet, who ended his abbreviated 2001 season with a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile; Traditionally, winner of the Grade 1 Oaklawn Handicap; and Sir Bear, a multiple Grade 1 winner including the 2001 Gulfstream Park Handicap.

NEW ORLEANS - Unraced since finishing second in a head-to-head duel with You in the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes on Oct. 6, * returned to the racetrack late last month to begin preparing for a 2002 campaign.

Cashier's Dream began jogging daily around Christmas, and the pace of her training will accelerate in coming weeks.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Mike Machowsky on Friday all but predicted victory for Paxtecum in Sunday's $75,000 Hill Rise Stakes at Santa Anita.

After winning two starts on turf in the fall at Santa Anita, Paxtecum finished fourth under Jose Validivia Jr. in the Grade 3 Generous Stakes at Hollywood Park Nov. 24.

Machowsky blamed the soggy ground for the loss and expects a better result against a full field in the Hill Rise, run over a mile on turf.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Richard Dutrow Jr. made headlines in New York in 2001 by winning the year-end training title, but he wasn't the only Dutrow making noise last season.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - The 2001 Ruthless was the starting point for Xtra Heat's 3-year-old campaign, and her win there was followed by eight more stakes victories, a feat that could earn her an Eclipse Award next month.

Five 3-year-old fillies begin their 2002 campaign in Sunday's $75,000-added Ruthless at Aqueduct, but it would be presumptuous at this point to assume any them can fill Xtra Heat's shoes.

ALBANY, Calif. - Those who moan about small field sizes in northern California may look at Sunday's Golden Gate Fields card with a knowing nod of the head.

The featured race, a one-mile allowance for fillies and mares, drew a field of eight - the biggest field on the nine-race card. Three other races also drew eight, but the total for the nine-race card was only 64, an average of 7.1

But cards with small fields have been the exception at Golden Gate this year.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - On the turf or off? That was the question when entries were taken at Gulfstream Park on Thursday for Saturday's $100,000 Appleton Handicap, a Grade 2 race carded at one mile on the grass. Fourteen 3-year-olds and up, including several for dirt only and two also-eligibles, were entered.

Heavy rains on Wednesday forced the meet's first turf race to be switched to the main track on Thursday, and the rain threatens to impact the Appleton as well.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Shug McGaughey brought Saarland and Maybry's Boy, two extremely promising 3-year-olds, to Florida for the winter and left behind D'Coach to take care of business in New York.

Should D'Coach step up and win Saturday's $75,000-added Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct, McGaughey will have another good 3-year-old on his hands.

Ten 3-year-old colts and geldings entered the mile-and-70-yard Count Fleet.