Cool Kahuna takes on elders at Northlands

Cool Kahuna will try and get back to the form he displayed as the province’s champion 2-year-old last year when he tackles older horses for the first time Wednesday in a second-level allowance race at Northlands Park. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew seven horses and goes as race 7.

Trained by Cody Anderson, Cool Kahuna has only started once this year, finishing sixth in the $50,000 Western Handicap won by No Hesitation. According to Anderson, it was a disaster.

“Everything went wrong,” Anderson said. “He stumbled and broke sideways out of the gate, and in all of his races he’s always been on the lead.”

Cool Kahuna used his good speed to win the Birdcatcher and Alberta Premiers last year. He is the only 3-year-old in Wednesday’s field.

Trainer Ron Grieves has entered Papa Time and Mootoo, and they will run coupled in the wagering. They complement each other well. Papa Time does his best running late, and Mootoo has good speed. They were sent off as the odds-on favorites when they ran in a similar race won by Millwright on June 26. Papa Time made a late run to finish third. Mootoo, who will run using Lasix for the first time, finished sixth. It was the first time Mootoo has finished worse than second, and in his previous start he won a first-level allowance race by 6 1/2 lengths on June 11.