'Cat' seeks her third in a row

EDMONTON, Alberta - Year of the Cat will shoot for her third straight victory in Wednesday's one-mile optional claiming feature for fillies and mares at Northlands Park.

Trainer Dale Greenwood again calls upon Rickey Walcott to ride Year of the Cat after they sped to an easy score over $30,000 company and repeated as a 3-5 favorite in an optional claimer.

Year of the Cat will face a trio of former stakes winners, including Speedy Gone Sally and Kathern's Cat.

Kathern's Cat shipped from Ontario to win the 2004 Freedom of the City. She then was claimed for $75,000 at Gulfstream and moved here to win the Lilac and be stakes-placed in the Northlands Oaks as a 3-year-old.

Speedy Gone Sally won the Sturgeon River as 2-year-old and scored last year in the Sales Stakes and Alberta Oaks.

Weekend Ceilidh, who won the 2004 Alberta Oaks and was stakes-placed in the Fall Classic Distaff last year, will have a new rider in Ron Blinston.

Steffiena, claimed by Dale Saunders for $30,000 in her first start of the year, draws the rail and runs for a $40,000 claiming tag.

- Smudgeledo ($5.80) got back to sprinting and back to the winner's circle in last Saturday's 6 1/2-furlong Journal, the first stakes race of the meeting. Smudgeledo, with Real Simard up, won the $50,000 Journal by 1 1/4 lengths for trainer Greg Tracy.