After a very active week on the "Road to the Kentucky Derby," this weekend's focus will shift to Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park.

EAST - Florida - Trainer Nick Zito, who has already unveiled two of his "big three" Kentucky Derby contenders in 2004, will raise the curtain on Robert LaPenta's The Cliff's Edge Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs.

The son of Gulch will ship from his training base at Palm Meadows in Boynton Beach, Fla. to Tampa to face 11 other 3-year-olds in the $100,000 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs. The Cliff's Edge has won three of five career starts and his victories include a sweep of Churchill Downs' fall stakes for 2-year-olds, the Iroquois (GIII) and Kentucky Jockey Club (GII).

Zito's colt drew post 12, but has been installed as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/16 mile heat, which is prep for the $250,000 Tampa Bay Derby (GIII) on March 14. Jockey Shane Sellers, who has ridden The Cliff's Edge in every start, will fly in from his Louisiana base to take the reigns.

The only two horses who are expected to challenge The Cliff's Edge are the 1-2 finishers from Gulfstream Park's Dave Feldman Stakes. Tap Day, trained by Mark Hennig and the Martin Wolfson conditioned Zakocity will make the 200-mile journey. The Cliff's Edge and Tap Day are the only Kentucky Derby and Visa Triple Crown nominees in the 12-horse field.

If all goes well for The Cliff's Edge, he is expected to shift his attention to Arkansas, where Zito plans to run him the Rebel on March 20 and then the $1 million Arkansas Derby (GII) on April 10 at Oaklawn Park.

Gulfstream Park - The $100,000 Palm Beach Stakes (GIII) is a turf race and not usually regarded as a significant Kentucky Derby prep, but a colt entered in Saturday's 2004 renewal has the race on his radar screen.

Foremost among those is Shadwell Stables' highly regarded Mustanfar. The son of 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled, who has yet to be nominated to the Visa Triple Crown, bypassed last week's strong set of races for 3-year-olds at Gulfstream as trainer Kiaran McLaughlin searched for lesser competition for the colt.

Jose Santos will ride Mustanfar, who makes his turf debut and is the 5-1 third choice in the morning line.

The Palm Beach favorite is Ken and Sarah Ramsey's entry of Kitten's Joy and Master William. The former, trained by Dale Romans, won the Tropical Park Derby (GIII) at Calder Race Course. Kitten's Joy is perfect in three races on the grass and there has been no indication at this point that he would be pointed to the Derby.

A field of 16 was entered for the one mile turf event but only 12 will run. Two of the entrants are listed as "main track only" and will only run if the race is taken off the turf.

A pair of well regarded colts, John C. Oxley's Grand Score and the Todd Pletcher-trained Purge, make their 2004 debuts Sunday at Gulfstream in a six-furlong allowance race. The former, trained by 2001 Kentucky Derby-winner John Ward, has been away from competition since a troubled third-place finish to The Cliff's Edge in Churchill's Iroquois. Purge won his only start last fall at Saratoga before injury ended his 2-year-old campaign.

In other news, owner Oscar Novo has switched Sir Oscar, who suffered his first loss in a fifth-place finish in last week's Fountain of Youth (GII), from the barn of Manuel Azpurua to trainer Martin Wolfson's stable.

"I think they were going to make a change," said Wolfson. "Initially I pushed against it because I think (previous trainer) Manny (Azpurua) had done a great job with him, but they seemed committed to making a change so I agreed to take him on."

Wolfson, who performed tests on Sir Oscar to help explain his poor performance in the Fountain of Youth, discovered that the horse bled during that race. The colt is expected to run in next month's Florida Derby (GI).

"He doesn't need a lot of work," said Wolfson. "He was already ready to run and very fit. I won't need to do a lot of training with him. Just keep him at this level over the next month waiting for the Florida Derby."

WEST - California -- Trainer Richard Mandella, who is the first trainer since Patrick Byrne in 1997 to condition both the 2-year-old colt and filly champions in the same year, confirmed this week that he would run Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) victor and champion colt Action This Day in next month's San Felipe (GII) at Santa Anita.

The son of Kris S., who ran fourth to Master David in his 2004 debut in the Sham Stakes, was originally going to wait until the Santa Anita Derby (GI) for his second start of the year. But Mandella reconsidered this week and has committed to run the champ in the March 14 prep race.

Meanwhile, Mandella's other major Derby contender, Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Minister Eric, is in his final preparations for his 2004 debut. The Deputy Minister colt worked three-quarters of a mile in 1:12.40 on Thursday and is expected to run next Saturday in the "about" 6 1/2 furlong Baldwin Stakes on the turf at Santa Anita. It will be Minister Eric's first start on the grass, but Mandella is expected to return to the dirt after that with the April 3 Santa Anita Derby (GI) a possibility.

"He's bred to run on the grass and the Baldwin wouldn't hurt him because then I could skip on to something longer afterwards," Mandella said.

There are two allowance races at Santa Anita over the weekend that could yield a Derby contender or two as three-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Bob Baffert will be at the center of both of those races.

In Friday's sixth race, Baffert has two entrants in Michael Pegram's Coldntight and Robert & Beverly Lewis' Courageous Act. The former has not run since October, when he finished eighth to Ruler's Court in the Norfolk (GII) at Santa Anita. Jockey David Flores has the mount on Coldntight, whose primary competition is expected to come from the Kristin Mulhall-trained Cheiron, the runner-up in the Sunshine Millions Dash.

On Saturday, Baffert will send out two more colts, led by highly regarded Odds On. The son of 1997 Kentucky Derby winner Silver Charm is also unraced since he pulled up on the far turn of the Norfolk in just his third career start. His only other career loss came to Minister Eric. Alex Solis will ride.

EAST - New York - Trainer Jennifer Pedersen, who came close to competing in last year's Kentucky Derby with New York Hero, could entertain similar thoughts after she saddles Redskin Warrior in Saturday's $75,000 Best Turn at Aqueduct.

The son of Indian Charlie has won two of three starts, but has yet to run in 2004. Pedersen had originally planned to run the colt at Gulfstream, but decided to ship him back to Aqueduct last month. The colt will face just six rivals in the Best Turn and is the only Triple Crown nominee in the field.

"It's a good field, but I've got to start somewhere and I didn't want to run him around turns in his first start," said Pedersen. "If he doesn't win and he gets something out of the race, so be it. Last year with Funny Cide, they were doing a lot of educating and it paid off."

Redskin Warrior is the 3-1 second choice in the morning line behind the H. Allen Jerkens-trained Smokume. The gelded son of Smoke Glacken, who is also the sire of leading Kentucky Derby contender Read the Footnotes, is coming off a fourth place finish in Gulfstream's Spectacular Bid (GIII) last month.

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