August Rain remains the horse to beat as 3-year-old stakes horses stretch out to 1 1/16 miles in the $50,000 Chris Loseth Handicap on Saturday at Hastings. A Barbara Heads trainee, August Rain won the Ascot Graduation over 1 1/16 miles as a 2-year-old in what has been his only route start. “August Rain has trained well” since taking the 6 1/2-furlong Ross McLeod Stakes on June 15, Heads said. “He has a tendency to be a bit lazy when he works, but [jockey Amadeo Perez] does a great job to keep him focused.” Classy City ships in from Century Mile, where he won the Western Canada Handicap over six furlongs on June 7 as the longest shot on the board. Before moving to Craig Smith’s barn, Classy City was campaigned in Northern California, where the son of Classic Empire finished a close second in the Gold Rush Stakes over a mile on Tapeta on Dec. 2 at Golden Gate. Finishing second and third, respectively, in last year’s Ascot Graduation were Vector and Diocles. Both are entered to face August Rain again in the Chris Loseth. Vector is a son of Bakken trained by Craig MacPherson, while Diocles is by Counterforce and trained by Pat Jarvis. Westminster and Moneyshot enter the Loseth as maidens. Westminster finished in front by 2 3/4 lengths when debuting in a June 1 maiden race at Hastings, but was disqualified for interference. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Moneyshot, a son of Frosted, finished fourth, beaten 3 1/4 lengths, in the Ross McLeod, with Westminster another 1 1/4 lengths back in fifth. Moneyshot has raced one mile or more on six occasions, each against maidens in the United States. His solid effort behind August Rain in the McLeod hints that he merits some attention over longer distances. Recent maiden winner Shock the House drew outside in the field of seven. As a lightly raced son of Sungold, Shock the House could still be any kind. The gelding won a modest maiden race over three others in his yearly bow on June 22. Supernaturel Handicap Co-featured on the Saturday card is the $50,000 Supernaturel Handicap for sophomore fillies over 1 1/16 miles. It drew just four competitors and will go as the second race on the card. Heads trains two of the quartet, probable favorite Avana and Viva La Diva. Owned by Peter Redekop B C Ltd., Avana won the River Rock Casino Stakes by eight lengths on June 15 over 6 1/2 furlongs and figures tough to beat Saturday. The daughter of Vino Rosso is now 2 for 2 at Hastings and has already defeated each of Saturday’s foes. “I don’t think the distance will be a problem, [given] how relaxed she is,” Heads said. First post on Saturday is set for 2:30 p.m. Pacific. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.