Booklet, however, held off Harlan's Holiday in both the Holy Bull Stakes and Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulstream Park.

The horses will run again at 1 1/8 miles on Saturday in the final prep before the a href="http://www.guangjupaper.com/">kraft paper cups</a> 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby.

Purchased by owner Edmund Gann after Labamta Babe was injured, Medaglia d'Oro was under the command of Frankel for just 3 1/2 weeks when he won the Grade II San Felipe.

The favorite at Aqueduct could be Saarland, whose sire, Unbridled, won the 1990 Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic.

While it is a widely held notion that the Kentucky Derby lacks a clear-cut favorite, Harlan's Holiday has run nine times, won five of them and finished second in the other four races.

In Arkansas, the contenders will include Private Emblem, who won a division of Oaklawn's Southwest Stakes, and Windward Passage, the winner of the Grade III Rebel Stakes.

Harlan's Holiday is trained by Ken McPeek, who learned Monday that another strong Kentucky Derby contender, Repent, was out of the Triple Crown field due to a chip in his front left ankle.

Harlan's Holiday blew past a spent Booklet just shy of the three-quarters pole and ran away to a 3 1/2-length victory in the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 16.

The Florida Derby was 1 1/8 miles and the extra length clearly benefited Harlan's Holiday, who was ridden by Edgar Prado.

As a juvenile, Saarland won two of his five starts, with the biggest win coming at Aqueduct's Grade II Remsen last fall., one of three notable prep races for the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown on May 4. In addition, the $500,000 Grade II Arkansas Derby will be run at Oaklawn Park.

Medaglia d'Oro is named after a brand of espresso coffee and will try to keep Derby hopes brewing for trainer Bobby Frankel, who had yet to win the prestigious race.

The two horses will meet Saturday in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

The field will include Buddha, who won a pair of allowance races at Gulfstream by a combined 13 1/2 lengths and will have Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day aboard.

Harlan's Holiday and Booklet renew their rivalry this weekend, one that will likely be staged again on the first Saturday in May.

San Felipe Stakes winner Medaglia d'Oro will head the field for the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Race Track in New York, which like the Blue Grass is a Grade I race worth $750,000.

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Both those races were 1 1/16 miles and ended with Harlan's Holiday closing strongly.

Adding spice to the race is the addition of Azillion, who was beaten by a neck in the Lane's End Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park