NFL'S MCNAIR WINS AGAIN.

Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer

The NFL's newest owner had to sweat out thoroughbred racing's version of an instant-replay review Saturday.

Houston's Bob McNair, watching the $200,000 Oak Leaf Stakes on TV at his Kentucky farm, watched his 2-year-old filly Chilukki remain unbeaten in six starts, but only after Santa Anita stewards held an inquiry into her swerving stretch run.

They ran back the videotape and quickly let stand the 1-1/4-length victory by Chilukki and jockey David Flores, dismissing as ``minor'' the incident in which she forced runner-up Abby Girl and Chris McCarron to alter course about 100 yards from the wire.

And so Bob Baffert-trained Chilukki passed her first test beyond the sprint distances, hanging back in third before powering to a 1:36.12 clocking, more than a second faster than either previous running of the Oak Leaf at 1 mile. The daughter of Cherokee Run will be favored in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Gulfstream Park near Miami on Nov. 6.

``I think she convinced a lot of people,'' said John Adger, racing manager of McNair's Stonerside Stable, which has raced notables Touch Gold and Strodes Creek in partnerships. ``It's unbelievable to have an undefeated horse going into the Breeders' Cup.''

Baffert said Chilukki's sudden drift toward the rail wasn't a sign of fatigue, which would have been a reason for worry going into the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup race.

``She's never really gotten in a fight before,'' Baffert said of the filly who has won five stakes by an average of 3-1/2 lengths and paid $3 Saturday while attracting $316,181 of the $348,875 show pool. ``When she made the lead, you could tell she kind of shut it down and drifted in.''

Abby Girl's jockey, Chris McCarron, and assistant trainer, Nick Hines, exchanged a high-five after their second-place finish, which shows you nobody had much hope of beating Chilukki. Spain was a distant third in the five-horse field.

The fullest weekend of Breeders' Cup prep races started badly for Baffert. He watched on TV as Joe Who and Chris Antley fell to the soggy turf in traffic while Bobby Frankel-trained Kirkwall and Victor Espinoza paid $52 in the Shadwell Keeneland Turf Mile in Kentucky. Neither the horse nor the rider was injured.

Antley then guided Baffert's filly Tout Charmant to an encouraging second to Perfect Sting ($5.20) and Pat Day in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.

Baffert's Forest Camp goes into today's Norfolk Stakes with a chance to take over as the Breeders' Cup Juvenile favorite.

Saturday, leading East Coast 2-year-old More Than Ready ran a quitting fifth in the 1 1/16-mile Champagne Stakes at Belmont as Greenwood Lake swept from 16 lengths back in last to tag front-running Chief Seattle. The $15.60 winner, a son of Meadowlake, was ridden by Jean-Luc Samyn for trainer Nick Zito.

It was More Than Ready's second defeat after five straight sprint victories.

Later at Belmont, Val's Prince won the 1-1/2-mile Turf Classic for the second time in three years and will aim to improve on his eighth-place finish behind Chief Bearhart in the 1997 Breeders' Cup Turf at Hollywood Park.

The 7-year-old gelding trained by Jim Bond went over $2 million in earnings and paid $8.10. He and Jorge Chavez tracked a slow pace, went past Kentucky Cup Turf winner Fahris in the stretch, and held off Dream Well in the 1997 French and Irish derby champion's U.S. debut.

Notes: Isle de France and Russell Baze won Bay Meadows' Hillsborough Handicap for Santa Anita-based trainer Ron McAnally. . . . Son of a Pistol and Garrett Gomez ran second to Silver Season in the Smile Sprint at Calder. . . . Santa Anita owner Frank Stronach's Golden Missile came up a nose short of winner Supreme Sound in the Hawthorne Gold Cup in Illinois. . . . Jockeys and trainers will play softball in Arcadia Park at 5 tonight to raise money for the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund for injured riders. Admission is $5.