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The achievement put him well on his way to the training title at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting, which ends on Sunday. To Baffert, the title would mean little. After Crisis of Spirit had won Sunday's Anoakia Stakes, his third winner of the day, the trainer's focus was fully on the Breeders' Cup races on Friday and Saturday.

"To me, if we don't win the Breeders' Cup, it's all for naught," he said.

Through Sunday, Baffert had won 22 races at Oak Tree, six more than John Sadler.

Friday in the Breeders' Cup, Baffert starts Always a Princess in the Juvenile Fillies. Saturday, he runs Lookin at Lucky in the Juvenile, Zensational in the Sprint, and Richard's Kid in the Classic.

"We need a win on Friday and Saturday, all we can get," Baffert said. "I don't forget Gulfstream."

In 1999, Baffert had big hopes at the Breeders' Cup at Gulfstream Park, but lost the Juvenile with Captain Steve and Forest Camp, the Juvenile Fillies with Chilukki, the Classic with General Challenge and River Keen, the Sprint with Forestry, the Distaff with Silverbulletday, and the Mile with Tuzla.

Chilukki, Forest Camp, and Silverbulletday were favored, the rest were 10-1 or less. The best finishes among that group were seconds by Chilukki and Tuzla.

Last weekend, Baffert's second-string 2-year-olds did well. He won Saturday's Jack Goodman Stakes with Macias and Sunday's Anoakia with Crisis of Spirit. They could run in graded stakes at the Hollywood Park fall meeting, which runs from Nov. 13 to Dec. 20, as could Marcello and Excellent News, who were scratched from Saturday and Sunday's 2-year-old stakes. Later this month, Miss Heather Lee will start in the $100,000 Moccasin Stakes at Hollywood.

"They're catching up and there is another group that's right behind them," he said.

Baffert mentioned Take Control, an unraced A.P. Indy colt out of 2002 Horse of the Year Azeri, as a

2-year-old with promise. Take Control is expected to start at the Hollywood Park fall meeting.

O'Neill takes Lava Man's sibling

Doug O'Neill is pushing his luck.

In 2004, he claimed Lava Man, on behalf of Steve, Dave, and Tracy Kenly and Jason Wood, and later won more than $5 million and seven Grade 1 stakes with the popular gelding. Sunday, on behalf of a different partnership, O'Neill claimed Enriched, Lava Man's 4-year-old half-brother.

Enriched won an optional claimer for statebreds on the hillside turf course and O'Neill took him for $32,000 on behalf of a group that includes Mark Verge and Neil Haymes.

O'Neill said he hesitated claiming Enriched on Sunday since the gelding was dropping from a third-place finish in the California Cup Juvenile into a claimer. Sunday, Enriched raced for breeder Carol Lingenfelter and trainer Craig Dollase.

"Craig definitely placed him in a good poker move," O'Neill said, referring to the gamble of the claim. "For $32,000, he seemed like he was worth it. We'll see.

"We haven't won anything with him yet."

O'Neill said he considered claiming Enriched for $80,000 from a maiden race at Hollywood Park in May. Enriched won that race by

7 3/4 lengths.

"We glanced at him briefly when he had him for a maiden claiming," O'Neill said. "We were kicking ourselves. He hasn't run a bad race."

Enriched has won 4 of 9 starts and $153,980. He was third after a wide trip in the California Cup Mile here on Oct. 3, his stakes debut.

Lava Man himself is back in O'Neill's barn this fall after a 14-month retirement.

The 8-year-old gelding resumed workouts in September and could make a return to racing during the Hollywood Park fall meeting.

McPeek may keep some out West

Trainer Ken McPeek has done so well with his 2-year-olds this fall that he may need more than one place to keep them all over the winter. And on a gorgeous morning at Santa Anita on Monday, he thought he had found the place.

"I think I might leave some out here," said McPeek, who has such well-regarded Breeders' Cup prospects as Beautician in the Juvenile Fillies and Noble's Promise in the Juvenile. "I have enough babies that I might need to keep them separated."

McPeek said he will have a division at Gulfstream Park this winter. Gulfstream Park's main track is dirt, while Santa Anita has the synthetic surface Pro-Ride. Many of McPeek's horses have done well at Keeneland, which has another synthetic surface, Polytrack.

"I'm hesitant to split up the stable like that, but we could have a synthetic option this winter, and a dirt option," McPeek said.

McPeek has shipped the mare Teamgeist here for the Las Palmas Stakes on turf on Friday. McPeek said if Teamgeist runs well in that race, she could remain in California for the Matriarch Stakes at Hollywood Park at the end of the month.

* Phyllis Adams, the widow of the late Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Adams, died in Arcadia, Calif., on Oct. 27, according to her nephew, John Bucalo. She was 86. Johnny Adams was the leading rider in the United States by victories in 1939 and 1942-43 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1965. He won the 1956 Preakness Stakes on Hasty Road.

- additional reporting by Jay Privman