Enduring Light - angle play

AUBURN, Wash. - Enduring Light will come equipped with a couple of intriguing angles when she takes on eight other 3-year-old fillies in Friday's Emerald Downs feature, a six-furlong sprint for non-winners of two races, eligible to be claimed for $15,000.

The first angle is that she was re-claimed out of her last start by a clever trainer. Enduring Light, who races for B W T Stable, scored her maiden win at the $10,000 level in her second start last September for trainer Tom Wenzel. She was claimed away by trainer Tim McCanna when she came out this year for a $15,000 tag on April 17. But when McCanna entered her for that same price on May 1, Wenzel took her back. The re-claim suggests that Wenzel, who knows the filly well, believes she is worth at least $15,000, and Enduring Light seemed to confirm that opinion by running a very competitive third on the day she was re-claimed.

The second angle is that Enduring Light is bred to be a better filly than she has shown in her first four starts. It is no accident that her name is reminiscent of Enduring Knight, a daughter of Basket Weave who won four stakes at Emerald Downs in 1999 and 2000. Enduring Light is also by Basket Weave, and her dam, Knights Fantasy, is a half-sister to Enduring Knight.

Making Enduring Light even more attractive is the likelihood that she might go off at generous odds in Friday's wide-open feature. She finished behind one of her rivals, Echo Weaver, in her most recent start, and Enduring Light's best career Beyer Speed Figure of 47 has been topped by most of her foes.