OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Allowed to coast along on an uncontested lead, just as in the Swale four weeks earlier, Trinniberg romped to an unchallenged victory in a slow-motion renewal of Saturday’s Grade 3 Bay Shore Stakes.

Although Trinniberg’s opening half-mile of 47.41 seconds was hindered to some extent by a headwind, as was Broadway Alibi’s half in 47.25 wiring the Comely a race earlier, veteran rider Willie Martinez basically stole the race in broad daylight. Consider that New York-bred maidens went almost a full second faster to the half through the same wind earlier in the day.

ARCADIA, Calif. – When trainer Doug O’Neill was going through a barren stretch in recent years, owner Paul Reddam never wavered from his corner. And though both O’Neill and Reddam could have reached out for a more prominent rider for their top 3-year-old I’ll Have Another, they stuck with Mario Gutierrez.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Todd Pletcher left Aqueduct following last year’s Wood Memorial scratching his head after heavily favored Uncle Mo faded to third, throwing his Kentucky Derby aspirations into disarray.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A handful of hopefuls for the Blue Grass Stakes had their final pre-race breezes on a busy Saturday morning at Keeneland, but it was a workout at a quieter venue some 75 miles away in Louisville that leads the pre-race talk for the main Keeneland stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby.

Najjaar, a two-time winner at the meet eyeing the Arkansas Derby, worked five furlongs in company Friday morning at Oaklawn. He went in 1:00 under jockey Calvin Borel, with Oaklawn head clocker Jim Hamilton carrying him through fractions of 12.20 for the opening eighth of a mile, 24.40 for the first quarter, 36.60 for three-furlongs, and galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.20.

Najjaar, who was sixth last out in the Grade 2, $500,000 Rebel, races for Shadwell Stable and is trained by Dan Peitz.

Trainer Bob Baffert will have a busy weekend in Arkansas on April 13-14.

Baffert said he will start Mamma Kimbo and Jemima’s Pearl in the $300,000 Fantasy Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Friday, the same day that 2011 Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty makes her 2012 debut in the $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap. The Apple Blossom is expected to draw 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace.

Next Saturday, Baffert starts Bodemeister and Secret Circle in the $1 million Arkansas Derby.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Joe Talamo did not have to wait long for the 1,000th win of his career on Thursday.

Last Sunday, he won three races to reach 999 wins. With no racing from Monday through Wednesday, Talamo had four chances on Thursday.

After finishing third in Thursday’s third race with Lady Fairbanks, Talamo, 22, hit the milestone with an easy win aboard Splendid Fortune in the fourth race. The victory came five years and nine months after Talamo won his first race at Louisiana Downs in the summer of 2006.

Editor’s Note: Countdown to the Crown returns for a seventh season online as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 6 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.

El Padrino was given a clean bill of health following his fourth-place finish in last Saturday's Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park and will continue to point to the Kentucky Derby, his connections said Thursday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Trainer Todd Pletcher comes to the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct with an undefeated horse who ended his 2-year-old season with a graded stakes win at Churchill Downs and began his 3-year-old campaign with a visually impressive victory in a one-turn mile race at Gulfstream Park.

That’s where Pletcher hopes the similarities between Gemologist and Uncle Mo end.