VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Crius appears to be on his way to becoming one of the leaders of the local 3-year-old division. It’s really no big surprise. He is the second starter out of multiple stakes winner Excited Miss. Excited Miss’s first starter is Arabella’s Muse, who moved to the top of the local filly-and-mare division when she scored a one-length win over Hollywood Miss in the $50,000 Vancouver Sun on June 7.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The champ is coming to Gulfstream Park.

Reigning sprint champion Work All Week is targeting the Grade 2 Smile Sprint Handicap for his next start July 5, trainer Roger Brueggemann said Friday.

Work All Week, who clinched an Eclipse Award with his victory over Secret Circle and Private Zone in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, will make his second start of the season in the six-furlong Smile Sprint. Work All Week finished second behind Alsvid following an unlucky start in the Grade 3 Aristides when launching his 2015 campaign May 30 at Churchill Downs.

The 2-year-old filly Uptown Twirl lived up to advance billing as the 1-2 favorite by winning a maiden special weight race by a half-length over Tiz a Tommy Town on Thursday at Santa Anita. Chances are the fillies will see each other again later this season, possibly in stakes.

Uptown Twirl, trained by John Sadler, and Tiz a Tommy Town, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, disputed the lead throughout. Tiz a Tommy Town finished 6 3/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Lady Cloud, a 51-1 shot.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With several would-be contenders taking a pass, the Grade 2, $200,000 Firecracker on closing night of the 38-day Churchill Downs spring meet is taking on a wide-open look.

Highly regarded nominees such as Sky Captain, The Pizza Man, Departing, and Golden Soul will not run, according to their connections, leaving the one-mile turf race with no apparent favorite. Among those who could start are Aztec Brave, Frac Daddy, Guys Reward, Hammers Terror, Villandry, and Xtra Luck.

AUBURN, Wash. – Blaine Wright has never won a training title at Emerald Downs, or anywhere, for that matter, but he’s thinking that 2015 might be the perfect time for a breakthrough.

Wright, 40, began the week with 13 wins from 40 starters at the meet, putting him second in the standings behind Jeff Metz. Metz, the two-time defending champion, has thrived this year with a high-volume approach (77 starts, 21 wins). Wright has fewer horses but a healthier winning percentage – 32.5 percent entering the week, the second-best strike rate at Emerald Downs (minimum 15 starters).

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockeys Rafael Bejarano and Gary Stevens will each have a new agent in July.

Bejarano, the leading rider in Southern California, will be represented by Tora Yamaguchi, who replaces Joe Ferrer. Bejarano and Ferrer had worked together for 11 years. Ferrer has chosen to retire to south Florida, Bejarano said.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Hoppertunity, the three-time stakes winner who was third in the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on June 13, might make a quick turnaround for the $500,000 Gold Cup at Santa Anita on June 27.

Trainer Bob Baffert said Hoppertunity’s status will be determined by how the 4-year-old colt continues his recovery from the Foster.

“If he bounces out of it, he might be a starter,” Baffert said.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The pace in the June 27 Gold Cup at Santa Anita will be legitimate, thanks to Big Cazanova. Trainer Peter Miller said the Grade 3-winning front-runner was on target for the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup, one of four horses Miller is considering for the race.

“Big Cazanova for sure and Finnegans Wake if he works well [Saturday],” Miller said when asked about his Gold Cup nominees. Plans for the other two nominees, Lideris and Poshsky, are undetermined.

ARCADIA, Calif. - At 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, Triple Crown hero American Pharoah walked off a Bob Hubbard Transportation horse van on the Santa Anita backstretch.

American Pharoah was home.

Greeted by approximately 200 people, American Pharoah was one of five horses from Bob Baffert’s stable - four racehorses and a pony - flown from Churchill Downs early Thursday. After arriving at Ontario airport 25 miles east of Santa Anita, the horses took the hour-long drive to Santa Anita.

ELMONT, N.Y. – You don’t name a horse Touchofstarquality without cause, and though it’s taken a while, this 5-year-old son of Mineshaft lived up to his name last Saturday, winning a second-level allowance race by 5 3/4 lengths and earning a 99 Beyer Speed Figure.

Touchofstarquality, trained by Michelle Nevin for Samantha Siegel’s Jay Em Ess Stable, has run only six times but has shown glimpses of talent, including a maiden win two years ago as a first-time starter. Still, Nevin viewed last Saturday’s performance at 1 1/8 miles as a breakthrough for the good-sized horse.