Beau Ring looks for win No. 22

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - A pair of one-mile stakes headline Friday's nine-race card here at Marquis Downs. Beau Ring and Dorothy Hazel appear ready to add to their impressive records in the Lakeland Heritage and Prairie Meats handicap, respectively.

The $10,000 Lakeland Heritage, for Saskatchewan-bred 4-year olds and upward, was originally scheduled for Aug. 17 but the card was canceled due to heavy rain and lightning.

Beau Ring, a former provincial champion who now is 10 years old, sports an impressive 31 percent win ratio with 21 victories from 68 starts. A number of aspects seem to point toward Beau Ring adding to that tally in the Lakeland.

First, Beau Ring's $169,111 in earnings is more than the combined earnings of his seven foes. Second, Beau Ring does his best running at the one-mile distance, and finally, Beau Ring just finished a solid second to Standoff, the divisional leader, in the Twin Charities Handicap last weekend.

Three past winners of Heritage races - Extended Credit, Stop the Act, and Son of Attey - appear to possess the best chances at the upset.

The $6,000 Prairie Meats Handicap is for 3-year-old fillies and drew a field of six.

Dorothy Hazel has won three races, all stakes, from seven starts, including her latest outing in the Parkland Heritage against Saskatchewan-breds. But Dorothy Hazel's three prior 2007 outings were less than stellar, with a pair of sevenths and a race in which she lost her rider.

Precious Prospect is the Prairie Meats highweight after winning both of her local starts easily. One indicator that Precious Prospect has a big shot is that she beat Stay and Play by 14 1/2 lengths in her last outing and Stay and Play came back to lose to Dorothy Hazel by just 1 1/2 lengths in the Parkland.

o The annual Prairie Lily yearling sale takes place at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Prairieland Park with 30 horses cataloged. Shaheen leads the list of sires with five yearlings in the sale, while You've Got Action, Striking Song, and Satellite Signal each have four. Sires represented with two yearlings are Bound By Honour, Othello, Royal Quiz, and Serious Business. Bluegrass Spirit, Captain Bodgit, Ciano Cat, Mint, and Private Joe all have one yearling apiece up for grabs. Nine of the yearlings are Alberta-bred while the rest were born in Saskatchewan.