Good start the key for Mahaty Jo

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Mahaty Jo could be dangerous if she breaks alertly in the feature race at Hastings on Monday. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint for fillies and mares who haven't won two races drew seven horses and goes as the seventh race. Tendra's Way, at $18,000, is the only horse in the field running for less than the top claiming price of $20,000.

Mahaty Jo broke a bit flat-footed and then was squeezed back just after leaving the starting gate when she finished third in a similar race June 15. Trained by Cindy Krasner, Mahaty Jo had shown decent speed in her two previous starts this year: a win over $8,000 maidens May 4 and a second-place finish to Good Thinking on June 1. If Mahaty Jo leaves the starting gate running, she could be tough to beat in a field that appears devoid of any serious speed.

Singing Along, who is trained by Brian Giesbrecth, finished first in the same race Mahaty Jo exits, but she was disqualified to fourth for causing interference at the top of the stretch. Singing Along certainly fits nicely at this level. She ran well to finish second in a $20,000 nonwinners-of-two claiming race on May 18. Sandwiched between her two races with conditional claimers was a fifth-place finish in an entry-level allowance race won by Juvee Hall on June 8.

Serengeti Sunrise will be tested for class after winning an $11,000 maiden claiming race going 6 1/2 furlongs on June 7.