ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Fitness is a major handicapping factor during the early portion of the Woodbine meet, and there appears to be readier horses in Saturday’s $150,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes than the highly accomplished Essence Hit Man.

Essence Hit Man, Canada’s champion sprinter in each of the past two years, is trying to win the six-furlong Jacques Cartier for the third consecutive year. He put together a fabulous 2012 campaign, during which he notched two Grade 3 stakes, the Vigil and Bold Venture.

Goldencents, the winner of the Santa Anita Derby on April 6, breezed a slow six furlongs in 1:16.20 on a cloudy morning at Santa Anita on Thursday, never being asked for a significant effort by exercise rider Jonny Garcia.

An evenly matched field of 12, including a coupled entry, is slated to go 1 1/16 miles on turf in Saturday’s $50,000 John Henry Stakes at Evangeline Downs.

The old Evangeline Downs in nearby Carencro, La., was where John Henry earned his first stakes score as a 2-year-old in 1977.

American Sugar, a winner of three stakes at three different tracks during her 11-race career, heads a field of eight 3-year-old fillies in Saturday’s featured six-furlong, $60,000 Goldfinch Stakes at Prairie Meadows.

2013 Racing Dates

May 19 - September 23 (races being held at Beulah Park, Columbus)

Post Times

1:30 p.m. ET

Handicapping Information

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ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Tom Albertrani, who had a solid winter in south Florida, hopes to be active in many stakes at this fall's Belmont Park meet.

He'll start off Saturday with Big Screen in the Grade 3 Westchester. Big Screen has won 2 of 3 starts this year, including a second-level allowance at Aqueduct in which he earned a 110 Beyer Speed Figure.

Albertrani said Freedom Child, who was declared a non-starter in the Wood Memorial after an assistant starter was holding him when the gates opened, is being pointed to the Peter Pan on May 11.

ELMONT, N.Y. - The uncertainty of the Southern California racing schedule prompted trainer John Shirreffs to move the bulk of his stable to Belmont Park for the summer. Led by Zenyatta's half-sister Elbouissante, 20 horses arrived here on Monday. Ten more are expected in on May 5.

"I would have to say there didn't seem to be a direction that anybody knew about, and it's very difficult to make plans when you have really nice horses," said Shirreffs, who is in Barn 41, about the Southern California situation.

Last year, in an attempt to avoid the often-volatile weather in Kentucky in the spring, trainer Todd Pletcher decided to remain at Palm Meadows with his Kentucky Derby runners until the week of the race, and watched it rain, rain, rain in south Florida.So this year, after running his horses in preps in New York, Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas, and Louisiana, Pletcher consolidated his Derby runners at Churchill Downs, where on Wednesday it rained, rained, rained.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Two down, one to go.

Four days after owner Ken Ramsey set the record for wins at the spring meet, his principal trainer, Mike Maker, set the record for training victories at the spring meet when winning the first race at Keeneland on Wednesday. It was the trainer’s 17th win at the meet.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Trainer Steve Asmussen will attack the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile at Lone Star Park on Saturday with two horses, Master Rick and Prayer for Relief, because he feels the distance is the right fit for both runners. A field of six was drawn Wednesday for the one-mile stakes.

Master Rick enters the Texas Mile off a 2  1/4-length win at the distance in a second-level allowance at Oaklawn on Feb. 28. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94, which is the best last-race number in Saturday’s field.