ALBANY, Calif. - Despite the presence of the two highweights, Above Perfection and Hall of Gold, Monday's $55,000-added Orinda Handicap at Golden Gate Fields has drawn a field of nine.

Above Perfection, who carries 123 pounds, and Hall of Gold, listed at 120 pounds, bring unimpeachable credentials into the race.

Perhaps the reason trainer Darrell Vienna is running Above Perfection in the race is the reason so many others are willing to challenge him.

"It looks too good [to pass]," said Vienna, whose filly is also eligible for $16,500 in Cal-bred bonuses.

OLDSMAR Fla. - It's not often a track the size of Tampa Bay Downs has a Grade 1 stakes winner in its feature race, but it will happen Tuesday when Exciting Story, winner of the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile at 56-1 last May, makes his 2002 debut in the $50,000 Super Stakes at seven furlongs.

Exciting Story, a winner of six of 18 lifetime starts with earnings of more than $800,000, has been sidelined since September, but, according to Greg Degannes, assistant to trainer Mark Casse, the horse will not be using Tuesday's race as a public training session.

Art Fair, reserved off the pace by Bill Troilo, edged clear from Honest Deceiver to post a 19-1 upset Saturday in the $50,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

Art Fair, a Kentucky-bred owned by Billy Hays and trained by Joe Woodard, prevailed by 1 1/2 lengths in the 6 1/2-furlong race, finishing in 1:18.07 over a fast track. She returned $40.80 to win.

NEW ORLEANS - Screen Idol looked good winning his debut at Fair Grounds three weeks ago. He looked even better Saturday when he thumped seven rivals in the $75,000 Crescent City Derby.

A strong finish in a sprint race does not always translate into two-turn ability, but Screen Idol, off a closing half-length triumph in his six-furlong debut, improved significantly in the 1 1/16-mile Crescent City, which was restricted to Louisiana-breds.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Evening Attire captured his third consecutive stakes in Saturday's $109,200 Aqueduct Handicap when he sped through the snow for a 2 3/4-length win over Ground Storm.

With Shaun Bridgmohan in the saddle, Evening Attire came from off the pace with a quick move leaving the backstretch and surged to a narrow lead around the far turn. Evening Attire increased his advantage and was never threatened in the stretch despite leaping over the tire tracks left by starting gate.

Tempest Fugit finished third, 4 3/4 lengths behind Ground Storm in the Grade 3 stakes.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Spin Zone beat Maybry's Boy by a nostril in a first-level allowance race at Aqueduct in December. Spin Zone's win took on added meaning when Maybry's Boy came back to win the Grade 3 Spectacular Bid at Gulfstream on Jan. 3.

On Monday at Aqueduct, it's Spin Zone's chance to earn his first stakes win in the $75,000-added Fred "Cappy" Capossela Stakes. Spin Zone meets four other 3-year-olds in the six-furlong Capossela, the feature of the holiday card.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Ayanna never has won a race without leading every step of the way. Rich Musique never has won a race without leading every step of the way. Both have repeatedly run opening quarter-miles in 21 seconds and change. With both entered in Monday's Grade 2, $150,000 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita, the scene is set for a spirited duel over seven furlongs.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Free of Love, a source of both elation and frustration for trainer Rick Violette during his 3-year-old campaign, will look for a bit of a confidence boost when he takes on third-level optional claiming allowance company in Monday's $38,000 feature at Gulfstream Park.

Free of Love moved to the upper echelon of the 3-year-old division last summer by finishing second in Saratoga's Grade 1 Jim Dandy Stakes.

NEW ORLEANS - With rain cascading onto the Fair Grounds turf course Saturday afternoon, the odds on Monday's feature staying on grass began rising steadily. Since Red Mountain was entered in the race, that figures.

Red Mountain has been rained out of his last two Fair Grounds grass races, which is unfortunate, since he performs well on this course. Fortunately, he also likes the main track, and turf or dirt, Red Mountain is a horse to be reckoned with in this high-end allowance.

ARCADIA, Calif. - One week after he was scratched from the San Fernando Breeders' Cup Stakes because of a brief illness, I Love Silver worked Saturday morning at Santa Anita, and he left his trainer, Dean Greenman, scratching his head.

I Love Silver, who was third in the Malibu Stakes on opening day Dec. 26, is being prepared for the Grade 2, $400,000 Strub Stakes on Feb. 2. He has had a habit of lugging in, a problem Greenman believes is mental, not physical. So in an attempt to get I Love Silver to run straight, he put both blinkers, and a more severe bit, on the horse.