SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Canterbury Park featured six Thoroughbred races as part of the Minnesota Festival of Champions program on Saturday, and front-running form dominated all but one event.

Over a track labeled sloppy, Blitz Joi ($10.80), owned Valene farms, began the proceedings with a 3 1/4-length victory in the $43,800 Minnesota Distaff Classic. Shesa Shesa edged her uncoupled entrymate, Playful Edition, for second by a nose in the 1 1/16-mile contest. Bobby Walker rode the winner for trainer Richie Scherer.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Grooms Derby looks like the one to beat this Saturday in the $35,000 Senate Appointee. Her trainer, Mike Turner, reports that Grooms Derby is training better than ever and with Make Contact not likely to run after her second-place finish to Fleet Pacific in the $100,000 Emerald Distaff Sunday, she looks pretty tough. Grooms Derby finished up the track in her last start, the Boeing Handicap at Emerald July 15, but has an excuse. She broke slowly than rushed up to engage Fleet Pacific through extremely fast fractions that cost both fillies.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Win City's mildly sprained ankle, which has forced him to miss Saturday's Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga, is coming along fine, according to trainer Bob Tiller.

"He sprained his ankle on Thursday," Tiller said Monday. "There was some filling there. We X-rayed it right away, and everything was absolutely perfect. I didn't work him Saturday - I wanted to see if it would come down right away, and it didn't. It looks a lot better this morning. He's jogging sound, and I hope to be training him by Thursday or Friday. It's just enough to keep us out of the Travers."

OCEANPORT, N.J. - No doubt, he's the horse of the meet.

Jockey Isiah Sala died in a fall Sunday at Marquis Downs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was 23.

Sala, a native of Jersey City, N.J., was the leading rider in his first meet at Marquis with 53 wins - 12 more than his closest rival.

Sala was on Twilight Deputy in the seventh race on the Heritage Day card, one of the province's richest and most prestigious.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The Del Mar handicap division belongs to Skimming, who on Sunday successfully defended his title in the $1 million Pacific Classic.

Skimming won the Pacific Classic by 5 1/2 lengths, giving trainer Bobby Frankel a record sixth winner in the 11-year history of the race. Skimming became the second horse to win two runnings of the Pacific Classic, joining the Frankel-trained Tinners Way, who won in 1994 and 1995. Skimming and Tinners Way are owned by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Less than 20 minutes before Skimming gave trainer Bobby Frankel his sixth Pacific Classic victory, Frankel watched Aptitude easily dispose of six rivals in the $300,000, Grade 2 Saratoga Breeders' Cup at Saratoga.

Frankel was so preoccupied with getting to a television set to watch Skimming, that he bolted out of the Saratoga winner's circle before the trophy presentation. When notified he had 10 minutes to post before the Pacific Classic, Frankel came back for the picture before heading to racing secretary Mike Lakow's office to watch Skimming.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - This Fleet is Due, the fourth-place finisher in the Haskell Invitational, popped the splint bone in his left foreleg and will miss Saturday's $1 million Travers Stakes, trainer Bill Mott said Sunday.

Mott said the injury was detected a week after the Haskell, but ``we tried to trainer through it, hoping it wasn't going to amount to anything,'' Mott said. ``But it became inflamed.''

DEL MAR, Calif. - Kona Gold already had secured Del Mar's male sprint title last month. On Sunday, stablemate Kalookan Queen wore the crown among this track's female sprinters, winning the $150,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap to give trainer Bruce Headley a sweep of Del Mar's sprint divisions.

Kalookan Queen had to outrun her division's pro-tem leader, Go Go, in a stirring stretch duel. They hooked up at the top of the stretch, but Go Go never could get past Kalookan Queen, who held on bravely to win by a head. It was another three lengths back to third-place Warren's Whistle.

MIAMI, Fla.- Built Up proved he's as good on the dirt as he is on grass when outgaming Radical Riley to post a well deserved head victory in Sunday's $53,900 Unbridled Stakes. Lavender's Lad, the tepid 5-2 favorite, finished third.