Bella Mia in solid form for 3-year-old debut

Trainer Blaine Wright is hoping for big things in the Pacific Northwest this weekend. Alliford Bay is almost a cinch to win the $50,000 Vancouver Sun for him at Hastings on Monday, and Wright also has a good chance of winning the $50,000 Seattle with Bella Mia at Emerald Downs on Sunday.

Bella Mia was the champion 2-year-old filly in Washington last year and has been training forwardly for her 3-year-old debut. Given her outstanding record, she should be favored in the six-furlong dash for fillies that drew seven horses.

Despite Bella Ma’s impressive résumé, which includes three front-running stakes wins, Wright has reservations about how she is going to handle what he thinks will be a serious test.

“She just might have been more advanced than the horses she was facing last year,” he said. “She made the lead easily and just kept rolling. Sunday she will be facing a solid group of horses that all seem to have good speed.”

He does like the way Bella Mia is coming up to the race, though.

“She hasn’t missed a beat and hopefully she’s a bigger and stronger horse this year,” he said. “She has worked behind horses in the mornings and she seems fine with it, but it is hard to say how she’ll react during a race.”

She will break from post 6 with Julien Couton aboard.

KEY CONTENDERS

Bella Mia, by Harbor the Gold
Last 3 Beyers: 57-57-53

◗ Following a rough start in her debut she reeled off four straight dominating wins and may have tipped her hand when she worked six furlongs out of the gate in 1:10.80 seconds May 6.

◗ She drew a good post if she is going to stalk.

Ima Happy Cat, by Smiling Tiger
Last 3 Beyers: 74-30-29

◗ Trained by Dan Markle, she was no match for Bella Mia and Diamonds R in her two starts at Emerald as a juvenile, but she was very impressive winning a maiden special weight race at Golden Gate Fields in her only start this year.

◗ The 74 Beyer Speed Figure she received for her front-running win on Tapeta stands out. She came back with a sharp work at Emerald on May 13, and attracts leading rider Rocco Bowen.

Diamonds R, by Alternation
Last 3 Beyers: 64-57-56

◗ The Tom Wenzel-trained Kentucky-bred prepped for this with a sharp win in a first-level allowance race that had a $25,000 claiming option on May 5.

◗ She improved dramatically in her last two starts as a juvenile, beating Ima Happy Cat by more than 11 lengths in a maiden special weight race and then setting an honest pace before finishing fourth going 1 1/16 miles against the boys in the $95,000 Gottstein Futurity.