Wayne's Princess, who ran third against male rivals in her last start, returns to racing against fillies in the $25,000 Miss Houston Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston.
The seven-furlong race for 2-year-olds has drawn eight others, including Point Gained, a half-sister to Horse of the Year contender Point Given who makes her first start since finishing seventh as the favorite in the $100,000 Silver Spur Stakes at Lone Star Park on July 15.
MIAMI - Castlebrook, whose four stakes victories this season have all been around two turns, turns back to 6 1/2 furlongs Saturday in the $60,000 U Can Do It Handicap at Calder.
Castlebrook became the leader of the local filly and mare division when she won four stakes within 2 1/2 months, from June 25 through Sept. 15. Three of those victories came at 1 1/16 miles and the other at a mile. A poor start cost Castlebrook, a daughter of Montbrook, her best chance in her last appearance, the Shocker T Handicap on Oct. 13.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Clarks would be proud. Churchill Downs founder M. Lewis Clark and his legendary ancestors, explorers William and George Rogers Clark, surely would approve of how opposing trainers are searching for ways to defeat Include, the top-weighted favorite in the 127th running of the Clark Handicap on Friday.
"How are we going to beat him?" asked Steve Flint, trainer of one of Include's main challengers, Outofthebox. "I don't have a clue. I'm just going to bring my horse over and hope he does his best."
JAMAICA, N.Y. - In the past two months, trainer Shug McGaughey has retired multiple graded-stakes-winning fillies Country Hideaway, Serra Lake, and Finder's Fee. He expects the void left by their absence to be filled by Atelier.
Already a multiple Grade 3 winner, * seeks her first Grade 2 victory in Friday's $150,000 Top Flight Handicap at Aqueduct. McGaughey will also send out Cat Cay in the one-mile race that drew a field of nine.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Before the three-day, $2.1 million Autumn Turf Festival at Hollywood Park picks up any steam, it starts slowly Friday. Likewise, the main contenders in the Grade 3 Hollywood Turf Express - Swept Overboard and Nuclear Debate - will languish early and fly late.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Wild Current should have no excuses in Friday's sixth race at Woodbine, a $62,500 claimer for 3-year-olds.
Wild Current has a ton of speed to run at in the six-furlong dash, which also has attracted Oye Yoye Yoye, Playing With Fire, Blue Eyed Sheik, My Golden Son, and Colebrook Ruckus. The latter three all do their best running on the front end.
Wild Current, a $200,000 yearling purchase by owner Cam Allard, has won two of nine races this meet. He is trained by Roger Attfield.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Former Portland Meadows champions Chinquapin Charlie and Tomtom Tommalice head an intriguing cast of seven in Friday's $7,500 Thanksgiving Handicap at a mile.
Friday's nine-race card has a special first-post time of 1 p.m.. The Thanksgiving Handicap goes as the eighth race.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The $500,000 Matriarch Stakes on Sunday at Hollywood Park is the final chance for Spook Express to attract support for an Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding filly and mare on turf.
Spook Express has three stakes wins this year and a second to Banks Hill in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Belmont Park on Oct. 27. Trainer Tom Skiffington has not given up hope that a win Sunday could give Spook Express the Eclipse.
For Skiffington, this is a familiar situation.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Not being the favorite in Friday's $200,000 Miesque Stakes at Hollywood Park may be the best thing that could happen to Film Critic.
In the 11-year history of the one-mile race for 2-year-old fillies, four favorites have succeeded, but none since Antespend in 1995.
The Grade 3 Miesque Stakes can be a difficult race to assess. It brings together fillies from Southern California with relatively unproven turf form against shippers from other parts of the country and European invaders. This year there are fillies that fit all categories.
