Deputy Inxs classiest of comebackers

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Comebackers Deputy Inxs, Saratoga Prince, and Mark My Dreams are among the six runners in Sunday's Woodbine feature, a seven-furlong classified allowance worth $67,200.

Deputy Inxs, a 10-year-old trained by Audre Cappuccitti, reached his peak in 1999, when he was voted the Sovereign Award for champion sprinter and champion older male.

Deputy Inxs made just three starts last year and wasn't a factor in any of those races, which were all stakes. He hasn't raced since he finished a distant fourth in the restricted Steady Growth a year ago.

Patrick Husbands has the call on Deputy Inxs, who is owned by his trainer and Gordon Cappuccitti.

Saratoga Prince evolved into one of the top sprinters on the grounds last year, even though he failed to win a stakes. He earned a triple-digit Beyer Figure in three consecutive races in June and July, which included an impressive tally over Great Defender in a five-furlong allowance.

Saratoga Prince has been absent since running fifth in the July 22 Bold Venture Handicap, and has worked mainly bullets this spring for trainer Earl Barnett. Todd Kabel has the mount.

Mark My Dreams spent the last two years at Hastings Park in Vancouver, where he won several stakes. He won two 1 1/8-mile stakes last year for trainer Lorne Richards, who moved his string to Woodbine this year.

Emile Ramsammy will ride Mark My Dreams, who is coming off a

7 1/2-month layoff and would seem to be prepping for a longer race.

Completing the ninth-race line-up are Grand End Sweep with Na Somsanith aboard; Catahoula Parish, Ray Sabourin; and Regal Sahib, Slade Callaghan.

Catahoula Parish, victorious in the 1999 Plate Trial, ended a losing streak with a gutsy score over front-running Van Patten in a seven-furlong $80,000 optional claimer three weeks ago. John Ross trains.

Grand End Sweep should be strongly backed off his recent third-place finish in the Grade 3 Vigil Handicap. The first two finishers in the seven-furlong Vigil, Exciting Story and Wake at Noon, are probably the top two sprinters in the country, and Grand End Sweep was beaten only six lengths while earning a 97 Beyer.

Regal Sahib, a non-threatening sixth in the Vigil, is coming off a last-place finish in a four-horse field as the favorite in a $100,000 optional claimer. His last victory came at the $100,000 level in September, and he was good enough to finish third in the 2000 Bold Venture, beating Saratoga Prince.