Bad Big Al back quick at Northlands

Trainer Jim Meyaard wasted no time in bringing Bad Big Al back to the races after he ran a very good race to finish second in a classified allowance race for 3-year-olds and up last Monday. He's running for the same conditions in the featured race at Northlands Park Sunday and looks like the one to beat.

Any horse trained by Meyaard coming back this quickly has to be taken seriously. Over the past couple of years at Northlands, Meyaard has won with 36 percent of his starters coming back in seven days or less. Although the conditions are the same, the group he was facing last Monday was made up of mostly stakes winners and this appears to be an easier spot. Robo Willie won the race, and he has won five stakes races in his career.

Rico Walcott rides Bad Big Al.

Diamond Doc looks like the main threat. Trained by Albert Strumecki, Diamond Doc will be making his first start since he finished third behind Cool Synsation in the $50,000 Red Dial Express last September. Diamond Doc runs very well when he is a fresh horse. Both times he came off of layoffs in his career he won. Last year he came off of a similar layoff to easily win a first-level allowance race. He came right back to win the Sales Stakes for 4-year-olds and up. From the looks of his bullet five-furlong move on May 25, Strumecki has him primed for a strong effort.

Ballintoy has some back class but wasn't able to win a race as a 4-year-old last year.

Kool Atlantic has won three races in a row but is taking a substantial jump up in class.