Double Time back on track for repeat try

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - Double Time will seek his fifth victory of the year in Saturday's $5,000 Toon's Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up.

Double Time, the 2003 Saskatchewan horse of the year, won this race in 2003 and, over the last two years, has missed the board just once while winning 10 races at Marquis Downs. Double Time, the 123-pound highweight who will concede two to 10 pounds to his six challengers, is a confirmed front-runner and has won at distances ranging from a half-mile to today's distance.

After two consecutive defeats, Double Time scored an allowance win over 1 1/16 miles last time, covering the distance in 1:46.75 and paying $11.70. Double Time, owned by Redbird Farm, stalked Good Old Sprite that day before putting him away and then holding off Beau Ring for the victory.

Beau Ring and Stop the Act are the most logical choices to upset the Toon's, given that each has a victory over Double Time this year.

Two starts ago, in the one-mile Fred Mendel Memorial, Beau Ring forced the pace from second and took command at the top of the stretch, winning by a half-length in 1:39.53. A former multiple provincial champion, Beau Ring missed catching Double Time by three-quarters of a length in his last start.

Stop the Act, fifth versus Double Time and Beau Ring in the last allowance race, won the allowance prep for the Mendel over seven furlongs on July 9. Stop the Act, Saskatchewan's 2003 champion 3-year-old male, will need some pace to run at if his late run is to be effective.

Completing the field are Rouge Royale, Good Old Sprite, Paniolo Road, and Just Scotty.