Buff Bradley said he wasn’t feeling any pressure about the Gardenia Stakes on Saturday at Ellis Park until he started finding out how many friends and supporters will be there to watch Groupie Doll in her long-awaited return to action.

“There’s going to be all kinds of people there,” said Bradley, who trains and co-owns Groupie Doll, the 2012 female sprint champion. “This mare has a whole lot of fans, people I didn’t even know about. It’s pretty humbling. I just hope she can go out there and make them glad they came to see her.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – This might be their one opportunity to beat her. Of course, Groupie Doll deserves to be a heavy favorite Saturday in the Grade 3 Gardenia Stakes at Ellis Park in western Kentucky, but the fact that the champion mare has not raced in more than eight months and is using the race as a foundation for future events would seem to provide a ray of hope for her opposition.

“If there’s a time to take her on, it’d be in her first race back from a layoff like this,” said Mike Maker, who will send out Awesome Flower for Ken and Sarah Ramsey as perhaps the top upset threat.

Miss Addison and Ron Faucheux might be invading from Louisiana for the $100,000 Ta Wee on Saturday, but neither horse nor trainer is a stranger to Gulfstream Park. Miss Addison made two starts at the track in 2012, while Faucheux had seven starters at Gulfstream in 2011.

EAST BOSTON, Mass.– When he last raced on July 20 in the Rise Jim Stakes at Suffolk Downs, odds-on favorite Victor Laszlo engaged Silk Spinner on the far turn and they dueled down the lane before Silk Spinner reached the wire first by a half-length going six furlongs. On Saturday, Victor Laszlo tries to turn the tables on Silk Spinner when they tangle again in the Last Dance, another $50,000 stakes for Massachusetts-breds.

ALTOONA, Iowa – The undefeated Smack Smack, the late-rallying winner of the $75,000 Prairie Gold Juvenile on July 20, will be heavily favored in Saturday’s $60,000 Prairie Meadows Juvenile Mile as the ballyhooed Ride On Curlin will remain in Louisville, Ky.

Ride On Curlin, who broke Ellis Park’s 5 1/2-furlong track record and registered a 91 Beyer Speed Figure in his July 13 maiden win, will be kept under wraps by trainer Billy Gowan.

“We’re going to wait for the Sept. 7 Iroquois at Churchill,” Gowan said. “We want to qualify for the Breeders’ Cup.”

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Ganbei should appreciate what figures to be a fast and contested pace when he runs in a $17,500 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that will serve as Saturday’s feature at Hastings. The 1 1/16-mile race, which drew seven horses, is chock-full of speed, and it should set up perfectly for Ganbei, who is dropping to a new low in his career.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – After a frustrating start of her career, Makayla’s Angel is starting to justify trainer Graham Motion’s faith in her ability. She can complete that job Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Monmouth Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.

Makayla’s Angel, a winner of two of her last three races, faces seven rivals in the 1 1/16-mile race.

“She’s a filly I’ve always thought a lot of,” Motion said. “I was surprised, frankly, that it took her so long to come around. The first couple of races were quite disappointing.”

This content is part of a free preview of DRF Plus. Click to learn more.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The idea of Rosengold barreling along on the lead of a turf stakes for 3-year-olds is not as daunting today as it was earlier this year.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The juvenile divisions will be in the spotlight here this weekend with the $125,000 Ontario Debutante set for Saturday and the $150,000 Vandal for Sunday.

Both races go at six furlongs, with the Ontario Debutante an open stakes for fillies and the Vandal restricted to Ontario-breds.

The Vandal is by far the more interesting of the two races. Heading the cast of 10 is Go Greeley, a 2 1/2-length winner of the open Colin Stakes at six furlongs here July 20. He is owned and trained by John Ross.

SHAKOPEE, Minn. – Canterbury Park will showcase 3-year-old statebreds Saturday when the richest editions of the Minnesota Derby and Minnesota Oaks since 1988 are carded. As a result of the 10-year marketing agreement between Canterbury and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, an additional $35,000 was pumped into the purses this season making each stakes worth $75,000. In 1988, the purse of each race was $80,000.