Brady's Tomboy could be a value play in one-mile feature

Brady’s Tomboy is worth taking a shot at in a $17,500 claiming race for fillies and mares that headlines Friday’s card at Northlands Park. The one-mile race drew six horses and goes as race 7 on an eight-race card that begins at 6:30 p.m. Mountain.

Brady’s Tomboy will be stretching out to a middle distance for the first time this year, and she might get overlooked in the wagering. Leading trainer Greg Tracy has a couple of live horses in the field with Count the Change and Merveilleuse, and they could deflect attention away from Brady’s Tomboy.

Trained by Dale Saunders, Brady’s Tomboy is coming off an improved effort in her latest sprint, and she really wants more distance. In her last two routes, she beat Alberta-breds in the $48,500 Fall Distaff Classic on Sept. 20 and then upset open company in the $58,460 Duchess of York on Oct. 4.

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She can stalk, and with the speedy Momma’s Gone Wild in the field, they will be winging it early.

Brady’s Tomboy drew post 3, where Scott Williams figures to have her sitting behind Momma’s Gone Wild and Time for a Memory, who also is quick and should make her presence known after breaking from the rail.

Count the Change is a deserving favorite and is clearly the horse to beat. The 8-year-old mare has won eight of her 14 starts at the distance, and she is coming off a 4 3/4-length romp in a similar race June 5 with Skyler White Shield aboard.

Leading rider Rico Walcott picks up the mount from White Shield, who is out indefinitely after breaking an arm in a training accident last Friday.

KEY CONTENDERS

Count the Change (Last 3 Beyers: 60-51-47)

◗ The obvious favorite was an easy winner at this level and distance in her latest. On four different occasions, she has won back-to-back starts in her 46-race career.

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the past five years at Northlands, Tracy has a 32 percent strike rate with horses trying to repeat.

Brady’s Tomboy (Last 3 Beyers: 59-49-48)

◗ The 7-year-old multiple stakes winner showed signs of life in her latest sprint and certainly will appreciate the move to a middle distance for the first time this year.

Merveilleuse (Last 3 Beyers: 44-67-71)

◗ Her route races at Fair Grounds last winter were good enough to win this, and she figures to move forward in her second start back after tackling a tough field of fillies and mares in a $25,000 optional-claiming sprint May 22.