Got Shades has made his mark on the grass as a multiple stakes winner, and he finished a troubled fifth in last weekend’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita. But when he runs next, he will move to dirt for the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte at Fair Grounds, trainer Danny Pish said. That race is Jan. 18.

Excitement in Northern California was high when She’s a Tiger crossed the finish line a nose in front of Ria Antonia in Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita. She’s a Tiger, who trained early in her career and won her debut at Pleasanton, gave Golden Gate Fields simulcast bettors and her connections a thrill – until the inquiry sign began flashing.

The longer the sign flashed, the more her trainer, Jeff Bonde, and part-owner Allen Aldrich felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - In the paddock before Cairo Prince made his debut Oct. 6 at Belmont Park, one of the colt’s owners asked trainer Kiaran McLaughlin if he had any horses he felt had the potential to make it to next year’s Kentucky Derby.

“This is our best one,” McLaughlin said. “He kind of looked at me surprised, and I said “And I’m not kidding.’ ”

Apparently, he wasn’t.

Cairo Prince backed up his 2 3/4-length victory that day with a visually impressive 2  1/2-length victory in Sunday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The most noteworthy thing about Wednesday’s races at Churchill Downs is not which horses are racing, but who is back riding there.

Julien Leparoux, who topped the Churchill Downs rider standings nine times from the spring of 2006 through the fall of 2011, has three mounts Wednesday, his first day back as a Churchill regular after relocating from the West Coast. He has the call on 7-2 shot Victory Island in race 2, 3-1 Place Card in race 6, and 12-1 outsider Solitary Life in race 8.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Don’t lower the gate on Verrazano’s racing career just yet.

Though his connections announced that last Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile – in which Verrazano finished fourth – would be the final start of his career, trainer Todd Pletcher said Monday that the multiple Grade 1-winning 3-year-old could run one more time in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 30.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Game On Dude was the pro-tem leader for Horse of the Year coming into the Breeders’ Cup last weekend at Santa Anita, with Princess of Sylmar considered one of the viable candidates should he fail in the Classic.

Both, though, were soundly defeated, Game On Dude faded to ninth in the Classic on Saturday, with Princess of Sylmar last of six in the Distaff on Friday, leaving ol’ reliable Wise Dan as the front-runner to repeat as Horse of the Year following his victory on Saturday in the Mile.

ARCADIA, Calif. - New Year’s Day had barely crossed the finish line in the eighth race at Santa Anita on the first Saturday in November before trainer Bob Baffert started thinking about the 11^th race on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs.

“When he started drawing off I thought this is a serious Derby horse,” Baffert said the morning after New Year’s Day drew off to win the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 1 1/4 lengths on Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Magician, the winner of Saturday’s $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita, will be part of a formidable team of 4-year-olds for trainer Aidan O’Brien in 2014.

O’Brien said in a press conference on Saturday that Magician will stay in training next year, as will Ruler of the World, the winner of the 2013 English Derby. Add Kingsbarns, a Group 1 winner in England in 2012, and O’Brien’s powerful stable should have strong representation in the major European stakes for older horses.

Mike Machowsky said the hoof abscess bothering Caracortado is so minor that he hopes his homebred gelding will be ready for the $100,000 Hollywood Turf Express on Dec. 8.

“It wasn’t that big a deal except for the timing,” said Machowsky. “We should have it healed up and get him back in training so that we’re ready for the next one.”

ARCADIA, Calif. - Early Sunday morning, before heading to the airport to catch a flight back home to upstate New York, trainer Jeremiah Englehart was still savoring the victory by Ria Antonia in Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, not ready to look too far ahead in the filly’s future.

That’s okay; his owner was already doing that for him.