by Blood-Horse Staff

WinStar Farm homebred Colonel John  , a multiple grade I-winning millionaire on the track and sire of currently racing graded stakes-winning coltsAiroforce, Cocked and Loaded, and Dalmore, has been purchased by the Korea Thoroughbred Breeders Association and will stand stud in Jeju-do, South Korea in 2017.

"The KTBA is very excited to stand Colonel John," said bloodstock agent Jun Park, a longtime advisor to the KTBA who brokered the deal. "He will be a wonderful addition to their growing breeding program."

The 11-year-old son of Horse of the Year and successful sire Tiznow   will enter quarantine before shipping to South Korea at the end of October to take up residence at his new home at Jeju Stud Farm, which also currently stands former American stallions Any Given Saturday and Chapel Royal.

Colonel John's most important wins as a racehorse came in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) and Travers Stakes (gr. I). He is out of the winning Turkoman mare Sweet Damsel, who also has produced grade I-placed Mr. Hot Stuff, grade III-placed Caroline's Gold, and stakes-placed Kayce Ace.

by Jeremy Balan @BH_JBalan

The budding rivalry between champions Beholderand Stellar Wind will see its third round Oct. 1 in the $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park.

Spendthrift Farm's Beholder took the first round comfortably June 4 at Santa Anita in the Vanity Mile (gr. I), but Hronis Racing's Stellar Wind flipped the script July 30 in the Clement L. Hirsch (gr. I) at Del Mar to hand the three-time champion her first loss since June of 2014.

BALAN: Stellar Wind Upsets Beholder in Hirsch

That Clement L. Hirsch win would seemingly put the 4-year-old Curlin   filly on equal terms with her older rival, but Beholder went on to run well to finish second behind California Chrome   in the TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I). Beholder's trainer Richard Mandella said after the Hirsch that he may have had her too "fat and pretty" and not entirely cranked up to run against Stellar Wind in that second meeting.

"I might have contributed to getting her beat the first time," Mandella said. "(I) might have been too easy on her, but that's just something you can guesstimate. You can't—there's no facts to it. The fact is she's running very well. There's no way we would ever be disappointed in her. But she's training very well and I think she's up to one of her best races coming up."

In the Stellar Wind camp, trainer John Sadler is similarly enthusiastic for his two-time grade I winner to again take on Beholder, who could win the Zenyatta an unprecedented fourth time. Beholder equaled the race's namesake and 2010 Horse of the Year with a third consecutive victory last year.Zenyatta won the race in 2008, 2009, and 2010 when it was called the Lady's Secret Stakes. The pair also will likely face off again in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I), where they should encounter another champion in Songbird.

"I'm excited," Sadler said. "The Zenyatta is the last prep before the Breeders' Cup Distaff and it's going to be another classic matchup—two great fillies, four Eclipse Awards between them.

"It looks like it's going to be another epic race. Stellar Wind has trained really well and hasn't missed a day or an oat, or anything since her last race, so we're looking forward to it."

The Zenyatta is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race to the Distaff.

Of the three other entrants for the Zenyatta, Stonestreet Stables' homebred Tara's Tango figures to be the most likely to spring an upset. A 4-year-oldUnbridled's Song filly, Tara's Tango is also a grade I winner—she took the March 19 Santa Margarita (gr. I) at 1 1/8 miles—and has some familiarity with Stellar Wind. The gray or roan filly trained by Jerry Hollendorfer was just a nose back behind Stellar Wind in the Summertime Oaks (gr. II) in June of 2015.

BALAN: Stellar Wind Edges 'Tango' in Summertime Oaks

Completing the field is the Mandella-trained Off the Road, fourth in the Hirsch (21 1/2 lengths behind Stellar Wind), and Bob Baffert-trained Vale Dori, a group I winner in her native Argentina in 2015 who won the Tranquility Lake Stakes last time out in her second U.S. start.

by Eric Mitchell @BH_EMitchell

Racing fans are looking next to the $300,000 Chandelier Stakes (gr. I) Oct. 1 at Santa Anita Parkfor the stakes coronation of American Cleopatra, the full sister to 2015 Triple Crown winnerAmerican Pharoah  .

Zayat Stables' homebred has been following pretty close to the script so far. She won at first asking by two lengths in a July 31 maiden special weight at Del Mar, but got rebuffed in her first stakes start, finishing second in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (gr. I) to Union Strike Sept. 3. Trained by Bob Baffert, American Cleopatra (Pioneerof the Nile  —Littleprincessemma) will be ridden from post 5 by Stewart Elliott, who was aboard for her maiden victory.

Zayat's star-in-the-making won't face Union Strike again in the 1 1/16-mile Chandelier, but plenty of talented contenders will be lining up with the hopes they'll be spoilers in Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" qualifier for the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies (gr. I).

One of those key contenders is Champagne Room, who became a graded stakes winner in the Aug. 6 Sorrento Stakes (gr. II) at Del Mar and finished third by nose behind American Cleopatra in the Del Mar Debutante. The daughter of Broken Vow  —Lucky to Be Me (by Bernstein) is owned by Ciaglia Racing, Exline-Border Racing, Gulliver Racing, Robin Christensen, Dan Legan, and Sharon Alesia. The filly is trained by Peter Eurton and will break from post 3 under Mike Smith.

Also expected to be tough is LNJ Foxwoods' undefeated homebred With Honors, a daughter ofWar Front   who won in near gate-to-wire fashion in her first start and followed that with a half-length victory in the one-mile Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes. One of two entries in the race for trainer Keith Desormeaux, With Honors will break from post 1 under Flavien Prat. 

Another undefeated entrant is Hronis Racing and John Sadler's Bitzka. The daughter of Tiago won her first start at Del Mar by 4 1/4 lengths and improved on that effort with a 5 1/4-length win in the Barretts Debutante Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course. Bitzka is trained by Sadler and will be ridden by Tyler Baze, who was aboard for her stakes victory. The filly was bred in Ohio by Andy Stronach.

J K Racing and Bruce Chandler's Zapperkat, a daughter of Ghostzapper  , will be stepping up to stakes company for the first time but seems up to the task. The filly won her first start by 5 1/4 lengths Aug. 20 at Del Mar, getting the six furlongs in 1:10.18 and earning a 97 Equibase Speed Figure. Zapperkat is trained by Richard Baltas and will be ridden by Norberto Arroyo Jr. The filly was bred in Kentucky by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings.

by Evan Hammonds @BH_EHammonds

A string of quick works signals Runhappy is ready for his 2016 debut, and last year’s champion male sprinter has drawn post 5 in a six-horse field forChurchill Downs’ Ack Ack Handicap (gr. III). The one-turn mile race has an approximate post time of 4:49 p.m. EDT.

James McIngvale owns Runhappy, who tore through four graded stakes to end 2015 to earn the Eclipse Award for top male sprinter. Both McIngvale and trainer Laura Wohlers believe the son of Super Saver   is more than a one-turn wonder and seek to stretch him out this year. The hope is the Ack Ack serves as a prep for the two-turn Las Vegas Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I) Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park.

“We’re excited to get him back to the races,” Wohlers said. “It’s been a long time and he needs to run. We realize it is ambitious bringing him back a mile first time back, but we’ll see.

“He’s great,” she continued. “He licked his feed tub clean after his work Sunday and he’s just getting stronger.”

Sidelined by a bone bruise early this summer, Runhappy has worked steadily at Keeneland since late August and prepped over the local strip in Louisville with jockey Edgar Prado up Sept. 15. He recorded a half-mile drill in :46 at Keeneland Sept. 25.

The talent in the rest of the field plays tougher than your average grade III.

Iron Fist, on the rail, was second in last year’s grade II Pennsylvania Derby and third in Del Mar’s Native Diver Stakes (gr. III). Both The Truth Or Else andSchivarelli exit unplaced efforts in Saratoga Race Course’s seven-furlong Priority One Jets Forego Stakes (gr. I). Calumet Farm’s Mr. Z, like Runhappy, makes his seasonal bow in the Ack Ack. Last year the son of Malibu Moon   was unplaced in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland and in Runhappy’s King’s Bishop Stakes (gr. I).

Three-year-old Tom's Ready, winner of Belmont Park’s seven-furlong Woody Stephens Stakes (gr. II), tackles older runners for trainer Dallas Stewart. At 2 the son of More Than Ready   finished second in Churchill’s one-turn mile Street Sense Stakes.

“The race looks a little speedy with horses coming out of the King’s Bishop and Forego,” Wohlers said. “There’s a lot of speed in there, but we don’t intend on rating him. We’re just hoping everybody else gets tired.”

The Ack Ack shares the program with the $175,000 Lukas Classic Stakes for older horses at 1 1/8 miles. The heavy hitters in the nine-horse lineup are 125-pound highweight Bradester, winner of the Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) this summer, and Noble Bird(123 pounds), winner of the 2014 Foster.

Joseph Sutton’s Bradester won last year’s Ack Ack and exits an eighth-place finish in Saratoga’s Woodward Stakes (gr. I) over the Labor Day weekend.

John Oxley’s Noble Bird ran off with the grade III Pimlico Special in May and has been unsuccessful while chasing Frosted in the Mohegan Sun Metropolitan Handicap and Whitney Stakes (both gr. I) in his last pair of attempts.

by Frank Angst @BH_FAngst

Apparently connections of potential rivals ofFlintshire are sold on his talents, as only three other horses have been entered to face the multiple grade I winner in the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (gr. IT) Oct. 1 at Belmont Park.

Dominant in New York turf races in 2016, Juddmonte Farms homebred Flintshire will try for a fourth straight graded stakes win and third grade I score this season when he faces that short field in the 1 1/2-mile test on the Widener turf.

Trained by Chad Brown, Flintshire won the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Stakes (gr. IT) June 11 on the inner turf at Belmont then took the slow-paced Bowling Green Stakes (gr. IIT) on the Saratoga Race Course inner turf. With a rabbit providing added early pace in the Longines Sword Dancer Stakes (gr. IT) Aug. 27 on the Saratoga inner turf, Flintshire delivered his usual late kick as the 6-year-old son of Dansili won that 1 1/2-mile turf race a second straight year.

BALAN: Flintshire Dominant Again in Sword Dancer

That 2015 Sword Dancer win was Flintshire's lone North American start last year. Starting with that race, he has won four straight turf events in the United States, all grade I or grade II stakes. In his 2014 U.S. debut in the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) atSanta Anita Park, Flintshire finished second to Main Sequence.

The 1 1/2-mile Joe Hirsch Turf Classic is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race to the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) Nov. 5 at Santa Anita.

The three other horses entered Saturday are stablemate Money Multiplier, who finished second to Flintshire in the Sword Dancer; Ectot, who enters off a close second in an allowance/optional claiming race Sept. 4 at Saratoga for trainer Todd Pletcher; and veteran grade I winner Twilight Eclipse, who finished third in the Sword Dancer.

Klaravich Stables' Money Multiplier has been close all season, finishing second in three grade I races. The 4-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky   finished behind Flintshire in the Sword Dancer, World Approval in the United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park, and Wake Forest in the Man o' War Stakes. 

Al Shaqab Racing's Ectot will be making his third start in the United States. Besides his close runner-up finish in the allowance/optional claiming race at Saratoga, the 5-year-old Hurricane Run horse finished fourth, just a length back, in the Lure Stakes Aug. 6 at Saratoga.

West Point Thoroughbreds Twilight Eclipse will try to improve on his third-place finish in last year's Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. The 7-year-old Purim gelding won the Man o' War last season on the Belmont inner turf. Consistent Twilight Eclipse has finished third in his past three stakes races.

by Jeremy Balan @BH_JBalan

Art Sherman was a swirling mixture of exasperation and confidence when he learned of California Chrome  's draw for the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes (gr. I) Oct. 1 at Santa Anita Park.

On one hand, the trainer could not be more sanguine about his chestnut superstar, coming off arguably the most impressive win of his career in the TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I). On the other hand, he's tired of drawing the rail, where the 2014 Horse of the Year will be for the 1 1/8-mile test and last prep for the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I).

The inside post in a 1 1/4-mile race like the Pacific Classic is a bit different than in a 1 1/8-mile event, especially with the presence of Dortmund just to his outside in post 2. The massive son of Big Brown  gave California Chrome his toughest test of his current five-race win streak when he finished just a half-length back in the 1 1/16-mile San Diego Handicap (gr. II) at Del Mar July 23 before he ran third in the son of Lucky Pulpit  's dominating Pacific Classic.

BALAN: California Chrome Superior in Pacific Classic

Kaleem Shah's Dortmund, trained by Bob Baffert, will also don blinkers for just the second time in his career. The first time was back in November of 2014, when he won his debut as a 2-year-old going 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita by 4 3/4 lengths.

"I don't know what to think," Sherman said. "I get tired of getting the 1 hole, but there's nothing you can do about it now. He'll come out of there running, but if Dortmund wants the lead, we'll let him go."

Off his Pacific Classic win, California Chrome is in line for a $1 million bonus should he also win the Awesome Again and Breeders' Cup Classic.

The rest of the seven-horse field in the Awesome Again, a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race to the Classic, is made up of quality equine talent, but any other reaching the wire first would be considered a stunning upset.

Grade I winners Hoppertunity and Hard Aces have both shown flashes in the past, but would need a stark form reversal to find the winner's circle Saturday. Both were in the Pacific Classic and both were unthreatening, albeit at different degrees. Hoppertunity, also trained by Baffert, finished fourth, 8 1/4 lengths behind California Chrome in the Pacific Classic, and Hard Aces came in 25 back in eighth. The other entrant turning back from the Pacific Classic is Win the Space, who was pulled up in the stretch.

Unlike so many other races he's participated in recently, California Chrome won't be the only entrant who was bred in the Golden State. Soi Phet and El Huerfano are stakes winners but lack the overall class of the top runners in the Awesome Again.

Soi Phet does, however, have the only other win streak in the field. An 11-time winner from 48 starts, the 8-year-old Tizbud   gelding trained by Leonard Powell won the Harry F. Brubaker Stakes at Del Mar Aug. 24 and followed that up with a score in the E.B. Johnston Stakes Sept. 10 at Los Alamitos Race Course.

The Cinderella horses and the contenders will all load up in the same gate as California Chrome Saturday, but there's no question where the focus will be when the gates open.

"I think I've got the best horse in the country," Sherman said. "I might be a little prejudiced about it, but, you know, he's done about everything a horse could do. We've travelled all over the country, abroad, and we've never ducked anybody, and it's been a hard journey. He really can't prove anything more to me. I think right now you're going to wind up seeing him the rest of the year at his peak."

by Lenny Shulman

The ultra-consistent Forever Unbridled heads a cast of seven fillies and mares who will do battle in the Beldame Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont Park Oct. 1. The nine-furlong Beldame carries a $400,000 purse.

Forever Unbridled picked up her game late last year in winning the Comely Stakes (gr. III) at Aqueduct, and continued into this season with a pair of graded wins, including in the Apple Blossom Handicap (gr. I). She has spent the summer knocking heads with top runners Cavorting and Curalina at Saratoga, hitting the board in both the Ogden Phipps and Personal Ensign stakes (both gr. I). She is a mid-pack runner proven at the distance and the one to beat here.

Newton Anner Stud will send two into the Beldame.Off the Tracks won the Mother Goose Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont at 1 1/16 miles in July in front-running fashion, then was shortened up to sprinting in the Test Stakes (gr. I) at seven furlongs and the Prioress Stakes (gr. II) at six panels, finishing third and fourth, respectively. She has the speed to lead this field from the outside gate.

Rachel's Temper also runs for Newton Anner Stud. The come-from-behinder scored in the Summer Colony Stakes at Saratoga last out at nine furlongs after spending the season running against allowance company. A fast early pace seems like her only chance to score here.

Paola Queen defeated Off the Tracks in the Test and needs to prove she is as effective at longer distances. She faded late in both the Acorn Stakes and Kentucky Oaks (both gr. I) and the 3-year-old will be facing older here, as will Off the Tracks.

Going for Broke finished a distant second to Songbird last out in the Alabama Stakes (gr. I). The lightly-raced 3-year-old won a couple of allowance tilts and did finish ahead of five others in the Alabama despite running seven lengths behind the superstar winner. She could be on the improve and rates a long look here.

Penwith took the Royal Delta Stakes (gr. II) early this season from near the lead, but her style has changed over the course of the year and she’s not showing early lick or the same late kick. She finished second as the odds-on favorite at ThistleDown last out but needs to step up her game.

Tiger Ride hasn’t won in nearly a year, since taking the Pin Oak Valley View Stakes (gr. III) at Keeneland last October. She woke up a bit when second to Rachel’s Temper in the Summer Colony last out but further spark is needed to contend with these.

by Frank Angst @BH_FAngst

Last year's TwinSpires.com Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) winner Wavell Avenue will try to bounce back from a sixth-place finish in the Ballerina Stakes (gr. I) when she faces an expected six other fillies and mares in the $300,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap (gr. II) Oct. 1 at Belmont Park.

In the seven-furlong Ballerina, Wavell Avenue appeared to be well-placed for her ususal late rally, but displayed no kick and finished sixth in the Aug. 27 race at Saratoga Race Course. Since that race, the 5-year-old Harlington   mare has breezed a half-mile and five furlongs for trainer Chad Brown.

Two starts back Wavell Avenue scored a clear victory in the Shine Again Stakes Aug. 3 at Saratoga. Last year Wavell Avenue finished second in the Gallant Bloom to New York-bred La Verdad, who went on to be named champion female sprinter of 2015.

This year's Gallant Bloom also features a trio of talented New York-breds in grade III winner and grade I-placed Hot City Girl, a 4-year-old daughter of City Zip   who enters off a clear win in the restricted Union Avenue Stakes Aug. 18 at Saratoga; multiple graded stakes-placed Wonder Gal, a 4-year-old Tiz Wonderful filly who enters off an 11 1/2-length win in a Saratoga allowance/optional claiming race; and another 4-year-old Tiz Wonderful filly in Quezon, a two-time stakes winner who finished second in the Union Avenue.

by Dave Litfin @DaveLitfin

Here's your Long Island weather forecast for Belmont Park's "Super Saturday I" program: "Showers on Friday, with a steady rain Saturday morning, showers continuing in the afternoon; chance of rain 80%; winds NE at 10-20 miles per hour."

In other words, if you're headed to the track for the 11-race card that begins at 12:30 and includes five stakes, bundle up buttercup.

Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (race 6, 3:26 p.m. EDT): With only four horses signed on, the featured Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (gr. IT), a "Win And You're In" race for the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT), is not part of the early pick five, nor is it part of the newly-instituted late pick five. About the only thing you can do is single Flintshire(#4) in the first leg of the pick six.

Under weight-for-age conditions, Flintshire carries the same 126 pounds as his stablemate Money Multiplier (#3), who he gave 10 pounds to in the Sword Dancer en route to his third win without a loss this season.

The most interesting thing about the race is a potentially boggy turf course, because the two most accomplished runners, Flintshire and Twilight Eclipse(#2), both like to hear their feet rattle.

Flintshire, relocated to the United States expressly for firm ground, is 0 for 4 on soft or "good-to-soft" going, including a fifth-place finish in the 2014 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud at 3-5, and a fourth in the 2013 Qatar Prix Niel at 3-2.

All seven of Twilight Eclipse's grass victories have been on firm turf—the firmer the better, since he set the current world record of 2:22.63 seconds for 1 1/2 miles in the 2013 Pan American (gr. IIT). This will be the fourth crack at the Turf Classic for Twilight Agenda, who was arguably best when a very troubled third last year.

The horse most favored by significant rain stands to be Ectot (#1), a three-time winner over soft going as a 2-year-old in 2013 including the group 1 Criterium International.

I'm just a spectator.
 

Gallant Bloom Handicap (race 7, 4:04 p.m. EDT):Wavell Avenue (#6) was a fast-closing second to eventual Eclipse Award winner La Verdad in last year's Gallant Bloom Handicap (gr. II), and turned the tables on that rival in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I). Coming off a flat sixth in the Ballerina, Wavell Avenue takes on La Verdad's half sister, Hot City Girl (#3), who nearly won the La Brea (gr. I) in her final start of 2015, and returned to form beating New York-breds in the Union Avenue at Saratoga Race Course in mid-August.

Wavell Avenue should be okay if the rains come, as she was a maiden winner—for a $40,000 tag, with no takers—on a sloppy Belmont strip in October 2014 in what was a vastly improved effort as a third-time starter.

Wonder Gal (#7), second in a sloppy Frizette (gr. I) two years ago, underwent a myectomy after coming up empty in the Barbara Fritchie (gr. II) last winter and returned to win impressively at the Spa, albeit over New York-bred optional claiming company.

Paulassilverlining (#4), who won the Distaff (gr. III) and Vagrancy (gr. III) back to back in the spring, has also run well over off-going, as has Quezon (#2), who picks up three-time Eclipse Award winner Javier Castellano and gets in light.

In a wide-open start to the late pick five, a realistic case can be made for five of the seven entrants:

A - 4, 6, 7
B - 2, 3

Pilgrim (race 8, 4:37 p.m. EDT): Oscar Performance(#6) has continued to train forwardly since his lengthy maiden triumph second time out, but like almost every other lightly raced 2-year-old in this edition of the Pilgrim (gr. IIIT), he is an unknown on turf rated anything other than firm.

The lone entrant with experience on rain-softened courses is the import My Bo Chop (#5), who figures to improve off his United States debut when a respectable fifth in the With Anticipation (gr. IIT).

Also likely to go forward is Oiseau de Guerre (#8), who had his heels clipped early and was headstrong through a premature move when odds-on first time out.

Hitting the "all" button is not out of the question in this situation—unless the race is rained off the turf, in which case I would try to skate by using only Sir Douglas (#4) and Thirst for Victory (#10). 

On grass: 

A - 6
B - 5, 8

Vosburgh Invitational (race 9, 5:11 p.m. EDT): X Y Jet (#6) was regarded as the top sprinter in the nation early in the season after winning three stakes at Gulfstream Park by almost 15 lengths, and finishing a close second in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (gr. I). After surgery to remove a knee chip, this will be his first race in over six months, and he will have to be at his best in order to handle the streaking A.P. Indian (#5), who has won five straight stakes capped by the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (gr. I) and the Forego (gr. I) at Saratoga.

Also rating some consideration in the Vosburgh, a "Win And You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) are: Holy Boss (#2), a solid second in the Vanderbilt;Joking (#3), who improved to 5-3-0 at Belmont by winning the True North (gr. II) prior to a designed freshening; and Stallwalkin' Dude (#7), third, beaten a neck, in the 2015 Vosburgh.

A - 5
B - 2, 6
C - 3, 7

Beldame (race 10, 5:45 p.m. EDT): In the absence ofCavorting and Curalina, there's little question Forever Unbridled (#2) is the one to beat in the Beldame (gr. I), but there is one caveat: she has never run on anything but fast tracks, and trainer Dallas Stewart has sounded apprehensive about running the multiple graded stakes-winning filly in the muck and mire. What's more, her full sister, 2015 Ballerina (gr. I) winner Unbridled Forever, raced solely on fast tracks throughout her career.

The only other entrant I can take in this spot is Off the Tracks (#7), who returns to the scene of her two best performances, a win in the Mother Goose (gr. I) and a runner-up finish in the Acorn (gr. I).

by Jeremy Balan @BH_JBalan

Several impressive 2-year-old maiden special weight winners will take the logical step up in the $200,000 Pilgrim Stakes (gr. IIIT) Oct. 1 at Belmont Park.

The most impressive of six last-out winners entered is Amerman Racing's homebred Oscar Performance, a Kitten's Joy colt who set the pace and drew off to win by 10 1/4 lengths at the Pilgrim's 1 1/16-mile distance Aug. 20 at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Brian Lynch, Oscar Performance is out of the stakes-winning Theatrical mare Devine Actress, who won the 2010 Santa Lucia Handicap at Santa Anita Park over 1 1/16 miles on the then synthetic main track.

Also stepping up after clear route grass graduations are Frostmourne (2 1/4 lengths Sept. 3 at Saratoga),J. S. Choice (3 1/4 lengths Sept. 5 at Saratoga), andKitten's Cat (two lengths Sept. 15 at Kentucky Downs).

Bookew Bucks will stretch out after a six-furlong, maiden-breaking grass score at Belmont Sept. 11 for trainer George Weaver, while Sir Douglas will switch surfaces, owners, and trainers (from William Fires to Chad Brown) after a 4 1/2-length, five-furlong dirt win July 10 at Ellis Park.

Bird's Eye View and My Bo Chop are the only entrants with stakes experience. They finished third and fifth, respectively, in the With Anticipation Stakes (gr. IIT) Aug. 31 at Saratoga.

Maiden Oiseau de Guerre completes the field following a three-quarter length second in his debut Aug. 28 at Saratoga for Brown as the 4-5 favorite.