Ex Mountain Cop goes for bonus

PORTLAND, Ore. - Five stakes will be run on Sunday's 15th Oregon Championship Day program, which is devoted entirely to Oregon-breds.

The $48,000 Os West Oregon Futurity at a mile tops the stakes menu, and Ex Mountain Cop is the one to beat.

Ex Mountain Cop, a 2-year-old son of Ex Marks the Cop who is trained by Jonathan Nance, has been nothing shy of sensational in three stakes starts at the meeting, winning off by big margins in fast times in each race. Ex Mountain Cop began the win streak with an easy score in the six-furlong OTBA Sales Stakes, and he is eligible to tack on a bonus of $30,000 by adding the futurity to his list of wins. Though he will be meeting five rivals at a new and longer distance, Ex Mountain Cop, under regular rider Juan Gutierrez, is expected to go off as one of the shortest-priced favorites of the meeting.

Heavy favorites should be the rule in at least two of the other Oregon-bred stakes.

Silver Patrona stands out in the $10,000-added Jane Driggers Debutante Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, which will go with five runners. Silver Patrona, a daughter of Tiffany Ice from the barn of trainer Jim Fergason, has won all three of her starts at the meeting, including two stakes, by a combined margin of 12 lengths. The speedy Silver Patrona, who will be ridden by Joe Crispin, has previously defeated most of her rivals in Sunday's race.

Lethal Grande also should be a short price, meeting four challengers in the $10,000-added Oregon Sprint Championship. Lethal Grande, a 7-year-old trained by Tom Longstaff, has 20 career victories and $346,470 to his credit, and he is coming off a 4 1/4-length victory in a one-mile invitational handicap here on Nov.o20.

Lethal Grande does face two capable adversaries in My Friend Dave, who was named horse of the meeting at Prairie Meadows two seasons ago, and Raggidy Rowe, a sprint stakes winner at Assiniboia Downs in Canada last summer. Javier Ortega will ride Lethal Grande.

The $10,000-added Oregon Hers Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and the $10,000-added Oregon His Stakes for 3-year-old colts and geldings at 1 1/16 miles appear to be competitive races.

Fettles Kan might go off as a slight favorite against eight rivals in the Hers, while Brave Hearted and Tom Two figure to vie for favoritism in the His, which has a field of nine.