'Coyotes' puts streak on the line

A year ago, Coyoteshighestcall was running for a $14,000 claiming tag - and nobody put in a slip for him.

Since coming into Scott Lake's barn last fall, however, Coyoteshighestcall has turned into a win machine while climbing the class ladder.

In 9 starts for Lake, the 6-year-old Coyoteshighestcall has 7 wins and a second, including a pair of triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures.

Coyoteshighestcall, plucked out of a seventh-place finish for $25,000 last September, goes for his sixth straight victory and first stakes score in Tuesday's $75,000 Norristown at Philadelphia Park.

The mile and 70-yard race drew a field of seven older horses, including former two-time Canadian champion sprinter Judiths Wild Rush.

Overall, Coyoteshighestcall is 0 for 6 against stakes company, including a sixth in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby. His two best stakes finishes, a pair of fourths, produced modest Beyers of 75.

Clearly, Coyoteshighestcall is a much better horse now than he was earlier in his career. He has won at distances ranging from seven furlongs to 1 1/8 miles while racing at Delaware Park, Penn National, Laurel Park, Charles Town, and Philadelphia. Most recently, he cruised to a 4 3/4-length score in a $16,000 starter handicap, his first start locally.

New Mexico and Explosive Heat also come into the Norristown in extremely sharp form. The 5-year-old New Mexico has won four straight, including two in a row locally by a combined 18 lengths. He will be stepping up to face stakes company for the first time.

Explosive Heat ships in from New York after winning 4 of his last 5 starts. His lone defeat during that span came when he was a close second in an overnight stakes.

The Norristown also marks the return of horse-for-the-course Putonyerdancinshuz. In 9 starts over Philly's main track, the 5-year-old Pennsylvania-bred Putonyer-

dancinshuz has 5 wins and 2 seconds. He has been unable to transfer his best form to the stakes level, however, with his best finish in three added-money events in 2007 a second against statebreds in the Smarty Jones Classic.

Judiths Wild Rush won Sovereign Awards as Canada's top sprinter in 2005 and 2006 and is closing in on $1 million in lifetime earnings. Now 7 and trained by Julian Canet, Judiths Wild Rush is only 1 for 13 the past two seasons. His best recent Beyers, a pair of 96s earned in routes over the inner track at Aqueduct, indicate he should be competitive in this spot.