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Baffert stays on the run

Think you have a busy weekend planned?

Bob Baffert probably has you beaten. First the trainer is scheduled to wed Jill Moss in Coronado, Calif., on Saturday. About 5:30 Sunday morning -- "I'll probably still be wearing my tuxedo," Baffert said -- he will fly to New Jersey where War Emblem starts in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. The race is the colt's first since bobbling away his chance at a Triple Crown at the start of the Belmont Stakes.

The Baffert-trained Congaree, a third-place finisher in the 2001 Kentucky Derby, starts Sunday in the $250,000 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar.

War Emblem was slotted for the Haskell by Richard Mulhall, racing manager for the late Prince Ahmed Salman's Thoroughbred Corp. After the prince's death from a heart attack last week, Mulhall was told by the prince's family to conduct business as usual.

Life without the prince hardly will be that, Baffert said.

"I didn't just lose a client, I lost a great friend," Baffert said. "Once you were in his inner circle, he was so kind.

"He's going to change a lot of lives in this sport by ... not being there anymore."

ONE-TWO: Tom Albertrani is in the enviable position of having to surmise which of his two star colts is the best in the Breeders' Cup Classic Division. Sahkee is in first place in a poll conducted by international media, but No. 2 Street Cry beat him in the Dubai World Cup and was impressive in claiming the Stephen Foster Handicap.

"I think I would have to choose Street Cry at the moment," Albertrani said of the Goldolphin Stables pair. "Sahkee still hasn't started since the World Cup, and until we see how he does later in the season I definitely have to go with Street Cry."

Street Cry is being pointed toward the Grade I Whitney Handicap on Saturday at Saratoga against a field highlighted by Lido Palace and Macho Uno.

FEELING HEAT: Reigning 3-year-old filly champion Xtra Heat will bypass the $100,000 Honorable Miss Handicap on Friday at Saratoga, most likely to enter the $125,000 Straight Deal Handicap on Aug. 10 at Laurel Park. Trainer John Salzman's filly also is unlikely to enter the $250,000 Ballerine Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 25, he told the Daily Racing Form.

"(Laurel Park has) been giving me stalls for the last 40 years," he said. "I'm also trying to find a couple of easier spots for the filly. She's been running hard all year long, and if I make things easier on her now I might just get her to the Breeders' Cup in good shape."

Xtra Heat has three wins, including the Grade II Genuine Risk and Vagrancy at Belmont Park, in five starts this season.

WORLD WIDE: Members of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities plan to meet in Paris on Oct. 7 to discuss ways to better promote the sport.

A main concern is the commercial exploitation of Internet-based wagering, bringing the flow of information and revenue toward the federation and away from offshore betting firms.

GREENER PASTURES: Wheelaway, winner of the 2000 Tampa Bay Derby and a fifth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, will stand at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The son of Unbridled won two of seven career starts and was third in the 2000 Blue Grass Stakes. Wheelaway was retired because he never recovered from ankle surgery after his last start, a fourth-place finish in the 2000 Belmont Stakes. Purchased from owners Caesar Kimmel and Phillip Solondz, he will be syndicated by McMahon.

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