Going for two stakes in a row

EDMONTON, Alberta - True Metropolitan aims for his second successive stakes victory on the Alberta circuit Saturday when he packs top weight of 120 pounds, including Quincy Welch, in the $50,000 Spangled Jimmy here at Northlands Park.

True Metropolitan, a Florida-bred owned by Bahadur Cheema and trained by Terry Jordan, captured the 1 1/16-mile Herald Gold Plate by 3 1/2 lengths last month at Stampede Park. In the Spangled Jimmy, True Metropolitan will be asked to run a mile, the same distance at which he was defeated by Smudgeledo in the Teeworth Plate in his Alberta debut after shipping in from Hastings.

True Metropolitan's main opposition in the field of seven older horses is expected to come from Beau Brass.

Following an allowance victory at six furlongs, Beau Brass was runner-up to Smudgeledo in the 6 1/2-furlong Journal here on opening weekend. Owned by Tom White and trained by Rick Hedge, Beau Brass has won the 1 3/8-mile Speed to Spare the last two years.

Beau Brass will break from the outside with Real Simard aboard.

Thievery, who drew the rail with Desmond Bryan up, is coming off an allowance win at the Spangled Jimmy distance.

Churchbridge, with Rickey Walcott, will be looking for his fourth victory in five starts after winning a pair of claimers and an allowance.

Courtney Bay was beaten a nose as the odds-on favorite in an allowance race.