Bold Chieftain heads BM Handicap

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Ten runners, including the three highweights, entered Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Bay Meadows Breeders' Cup Handicap.

Bold Chieftain, the highweight at 120 pounds, comes into the race seeking his third straight stakes victory, having won the July 8 Alamedan at Pleasanton and the Aug. 3 California Dreamin' on turf at Del Mar.

Entered at 119 pounds are Jack's Wild, fourth in the California Dreamin' and winner of the Aug. 25 California Turf Championship Handicap at Bay Meadows, and Now Victory, third in the California Turf Championship after winning the Aug. 4 Joseph Grace on the turf at Santa Rosa.

Ispingo, third in his stakes debut in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on Aug. 19, and Grade 3 winner Chattahoochee War lead the Southern California entries. Other Southern California-based horses in the field are Macduff, third this spring in the Grade 3 Golden Gate Fields Breeders' Cup Handicap, and Blue Torpedo, who makes his U.S. stakes debut.

Also entered are Sweet Roberto, Heatseeker, and Shining Day, all from Jerry Hollendorfer's barn.

Quick Meeting could make the lead

The first Friday night card at the meet has a solid sprint feature, a $40,000 optional claimer. The race drew six runners and five betting interests, as two leading contenders, Quick Meeting and Defensive Move, are owned by Harris Farms and are coupled in the wagering.

Although Quick Meeting has been routing on the turf, the 3-year-old gelding has the speed to take the early lead here. Defensive Move also has shown early speed, as has Babcock Lake.

Quick Meeting, who has not finished off the board in five career starts, usually stalks the pace, but his jockey, Chad Schvaneveldt, may put him on the lead Friday.

Quick Meeting is drawn outside his potential pace foes. In past seasons, Friday night racing has played even kinder to speed than the track normally does, and speed has been advantaged throughout the meet.

Quick Meeting comes off a five-furlong work in 59.40 seconds, the best of 23 at the distance that day.

Quick Meeting's top rival could be Robbos Courage, who turned in a strong effort to win his debut at Golden Gate Fields on Jan. 28 but hasn't won since. He never got going in his last start, a seventh-place finish at Del Mar on Sept. 1 that followed an 11-week layoff.

Stakes-placed Mr. Negotiator and Happy One round out the field.