Calhoun has two threats

As multiple stakes winners, Cat Genius and Orphan Brigade will give their trainer, Bret Calhoun, a strong hand when they start as the probable top two choices in the featured five-furlong turf allowance at Lone Star Park. The race has a purse of $35,000.

Cat Genius could go favored following his victory last out in the $50,000 Sam Houston Turf Sprint on April 7. Orphan Brigade was a troubled third in the race, beaten a half-length.

"They're very sharp," said Calhoun, who leads the trainer standings at Lone Star. "They fit well in that race. I would think they'd be very competitive in there."

Cat Genius, a five-time stakes winner who has earned $472,036, wired the field in the Sam Houston Turf Sprint, and Calhoun said the five-furlong distance suits the horse well. He trains Cat Genius for John Parker, and has given the mount to Cliff Berry.

Orphan Brigade, who won an overnight turf sprint stakes at Lone Star in 2005, is a three-time stakes winner with earnings of $434,494. Calhoun said in his last start, the Sam Houston Turf Sprint, the horse lost ground on the turn and rallied strongly through the stretch. He trains Orphan Brigade for Carl Moore Management, and has given the mount to Bobby Walker Jr.

"They're both speed horses," Calhoun said of Cat Genius and Orphan Brigade. "They'll both be forwardly placed."