Copper Tax gets class and distance relief in Saturday’s $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes for 3-year-olds racing seven furlongs at Laurel Park. The Spectacular Bid shares top billing on the 11-race program with the $100,000 Xtra Heat Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs. There will be a special early first post time of 11:40 a.m. Eastern. A winner in five of seven starts, Copper Tax is widely regarded as one of the best 3-year-old colts based in the Mid-Atlantic region. Trained by Gary Capuano, Copper Tax had a five-race win streak snapped when sixth of 10 in Aqueduct’s Grade 2 Remsen at 1 1/8 miles on Dec. 2. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “It wasn’t a terrible race,” Capuano said. “The track didn’t dry out. Speed was holding on the rail. He was outside and had a lot to overcome. He had a chance around the three-eighths or quarter pole, then got kind of steadied a little bit, just enough to slow his momentum down. He ran kind of even from there.” Capuano said that Copper Tax was sent to the farm for a freshening after the Remsen and has registered four workouts since returning to the racetrack, including a bullet one-mile breeze at Laurel on Jan. 23. Due to persistent and severe weather conditions in the area, racing was abandoned at Laurel last week, and training was canceled this Wednesday and Thursday with rain expected through the weekend. “He went really nice,” Capuano said. “The track was a little bit quicker. I’m worried about the track this weekend. It’s just been a mess. Luckily, we got that in. I wanted to get something into him, just because I’m kind of pushing him to have him ready for the seven-eighths race.” Mission Beach tackled top juveniles such as Timberlake and Nysos in graded stakes races last year for trainer Bob Baffert, and made a nice impression in his first start last month for Brittany Russell. Held up at the back of the pack in that first-level allowance, he stormed home to prevail as the odds-on favorite. “I told [jockey Sheldon Russell] the idea is to [eventually] stretch this horse out,” Brittany Russell said. “Sprinting, we were hoping to get a win and pick his head up. I told him to just sit on him, hold him together, make a run, and just make sure you’re doing it the right way.” Despite the interruptions in the track’s training schedule due to weather, Russell is “in a great spot” with Mission Beach. “I got in what I needed to get done. I’m not concerned about it.” Sweet Soddy J grabbed the Heft Stakes in gate-to-wire fashion at Laurel on Dec. 30, then finished last of five in Aqueduct’s Jerome seven days later. “He might not have liked the mile, or the week’s rest,” said Lynn Cash, owner of Built Wright Stables. Guanare has won both starts since being transferred to trainer Richard Dutrow Jr.’s barn, including a performance where he earned an 88 Beyer Speed Figure in a $50,000 starter allowance at Aqueduct on Nov. 30. Had to Have Him, Point Pelee, and Maximus Meridius complete the field. El Divino Nino is cross-entered in Aqueduct’s Jimmy Winkfield Stakes on Saturday, and trainer Rudy Sanchez-Salomon said he is “leaning” on running there. Kelly’z Kidz will scratch per text from trainer John Servis.  Debut winners top Xtra Heat Two impressive debut winners square off in the six-furlong Xtra Heat. Reconcile, a regally bred daughter of War Front, pulled off an 8-1 upset in a maiden special weight at Aqueduct on Dec. 17. “She had trained pretty well, but I didn’t have her overprepared,” said trainer Linda Rice. “We were pretty excited about running her at that time. She did stumble just a bit at the break, but she recovered and was pretty impressive.” Reconcile went right back to work after that victory, breezing a half-mile 10 days later over the Belmont Park training track. She polished off her Xtra Heat preparations with a six-furlong breeze there on Jan. 14. “She’s trained exceptionally well into this race,” Rice added. “I couldn’t be happier.” Rice feels that Reconcile will show her natural speed under Jaime Rodriguez. “I think that, considering the post position, we’ll probably just let her float to the lead.” Heart, a homebred daughter of Bolt d’Oro, proved a popular pace-pressing winner of her debut at Laurel on Dec. 29 for Brittany Russell. “She’s very classy,” Russell said. “Not a big filly, but she honestly worked like a rocket ship. She’s just a fast type. I think it’s a great spot to try the stake.” Heart drew just outside of Reconcile in post 4. “She’s sensible,” Russell said. “She’s naturally quick, but it’s not like she has to go.” C C Royal, Roanan Goddess, Still Game, and Kiss for Luck also are entered. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.