Derby won't get more than six

EDMONTON, Alberta - Nominations for the $150,000 Canadian Derby close this week, and officials at Northlands Park are predicting a field of no more than six, including three locals, for the Aug. 25 feature. The Canadian Derby, a Grade 3 race for 3-year-olds, goes at 1 3/8 miles.

Leading the local contingent is Fancy As, who is coming off an impressive second-place finish in the Aug. 6 Manitoba Derby and has been touted as the one to beat in the Canadian Derby since last summer.

Joining Fancy As on the home team will be Kid Copper, who won the $35,000 Count Lathum here Aug. 4, and Bubblegum Kid, the runner-up in that race.

Jonathan Huntington, media coordinator at Northlands Park, is expecting three contenders to ship in for the big race.

Krakow, trained by Roger Attfield, is likely to be coming.

"He's becoming a turf specialist at Woodbine," said Huntington, "and has run 1 3/8 miles on the turf. That would make him one of the very few horses that ever participated in the Derby who had gone that distance previously."

Other probables include Stage Classic, an Ontario invader who won the Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia Downs, and Thurston, who hails from Hastings Park in Vancouver and is trained by legendary Harold Barroby.

* Little Lolita crushed her rivals last Saturday in the $50,000 Sonoma Handicap and is undoubtedly the top 3-year-old filly at Northlands, but she may be done for the year after her owners were late with the nomination payment for Fall Classic Day here Sept. 22.