Alta Aire, 'Red Wine' meet again

EDMONTON, Alberta - Friday night's program at Northlands Park features the second running of the $50,000 3-year-old Filly Sales Stakes, with a field of nine going a mile.

Alta Aire, who won the Bird of Pay a year ago, could be the filly to beat, with Shannon Beauregard getting the return call from trainer Joan Petrowski. Runner-up in the Mount Royal this spring, Alta Aire finished a strong second to Classa Red Wine in an allowance race in her last start, beaten a head.

Classa Red Wine, voted the province's champion 2-year-old filly last year, has hit her best stride in her last two races. Classa Red Wine was second in the one-mile Penny Ridge at Stampede Park and followed that up with a sharp allowance victory.

All entrants will carry 119 pounds.

* Vancouver invader One Special Hoss, the 3-2 favorite in a field of 10, lived up to his name in denying trainer Greg Tracy's powerful stable a sweep of last weekend's $50,000 features for 2-year-olds.

Ridden by Cayetano Chaparro, One Special Hoss came on in the stretch to track down pace-setting Golden Hunt, trained by Tracy, for a 1 1/2-length victory in Monday's 57th running of the Birdcatcher.

Tracy's Florida-bred Miss Venturous, bet down to 7-10, made it look easy in last Saturday's Bird of Pay, recording her third straight victory while defeating six of the circuit's best 2-year-old fillies.