Arollercoasterride ready to reach the heights in Lieutenant Governor's

Arollercoasterride is the horse to beat in the $50,000 Lieutenant Governor’s Handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Hastings on Saturday’s Canada Day card. The son of Curlin was both impressive and unlucky in proving his mettle last fall with a leap from maiden company straight into the British Columbia Derby.

Seldom does a sophomore at Hastings miss by a head in the most important race on the schedule for runners of his age group and follow that up with a narrower loss in the BC Premier’s Handicap for older runners. That describes the accolades and frustrations known last year by Arollercoasterride.

Trainer Barbara Heads said of her charge, “He is doing extremely well. He has an impressive 1 1/16-mile race under his belt” at the current stand.

Heading the competition for Arollercoasterride is Big Union, recent winner of the George Royal Stakes for trainer Nicole Rycroft, in what was only her third career starter as a trainer of record.

Big Union has won both his 2023 starts by a comfortable margin, each when sprinting over the Hastings oval. His sire, Union Rags, won the Belmont Stakes in his final start and that bodes very well for Big Union taking to the distance on Saturday.

:: Get ready for summer racing with a DRF Formulator Quarterly PP plan

Others in the field are Soaringforthesun and Be Quick, both Hastings stakes winners at the distance in 2022, along with Pay My Way, Florida Gator, and Rookie Year, who finished second, third, and fourth, respectively, in a recent allowance race at Saturday’s distance.

Monashee Handicap

Co-featured on Canada Day is the $50,000 Monashee Handicap for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles. We B Three figures to be a short-priced favorite based on her impressive score in the Emerald Downs Stakes four weeks ago.

Saturday’s field is comprised of the top six finishers from the Emerald Downs, in which We B Three sat a comfortable trip just behind the dueling speedsters before overtaking them to post a two-length victory.

Solarity may have a much greater say in Saturday’s outcome than she did in the Emerald Downs Stakes when she was troubled more than once. Solarity broke sharply, got great inside position on the first turn only to have a hole close on her as they moved toward the backstretch. Something similar took place a little later in the running.

Solarity, 7, will be piloted by Antonio Reyes, marking the sixth consecutive calendar year during which Reyes has ridden Solarity at one point or another. The pair have teamed for three wins from four chances since October 2020.

Run Lola Run, also trained by Heads, finished fourth in the Emerald Downs after stalking the pace. Of Run Lola Run, Heads said, “She worked very well. She’s doing good and proved that she belongs” in stakes company.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.