Hall has intriguing pair for John Longden 6000

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Phil Hall won his first training title at Hastings last year, and with a four-win lead over Glen Todd at the current meet, he is well on his way to repeating. Hall has won with 13 of his 34 starters and his 38 percent strike rate is the best among trainers at the meet that have started more than four horses.

Hall thinks he has a good chance of adding to his totals when he runs Calgary Caper and Quick and Silver in the $50,000 John Longden 6000 on Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up drew eight horses and is the first middle-distance stakes race for older horses at Hastings this year.

Calgary Caper and Quick and Silver have completely different running styles. Calgary Caper will be rolling late, while Quick and Silver will either be on the lead or sitting just off Modern.

Calgary Caper was voted the champion older horse in British Columbia in 2016, but he went winless in eight starts last year. He showed signs of regaining his championship form when he won a second-level allowance race with a $35,000 claiming option May 26.

With 14 wins at Golden Gate Fields, Quick and Silver is a better horse on Tapeta. He is also a better sprinter, with 14 of his 15 wins coming in sprints. However, he did earn a 98 Beyer Speed Figure when he won a one-mile optional claimer at Golden Gate in 2015. In his only start at Hastings, he finished second in the $50,000 Swift Inaugural on April 22. He is coming off a seventh-place finish in the $50,000 Journal at Northlands Park on May 19.

Calgary Caper will break from the outside post with Sahin Civaci riding. Amadeo Perez will be aboard Quick and Silver when he breaks from post 4.

“They are both doing well,” said Hall. “We know Calgary Caper can go this far, and I like the way Sahin put him into his last race earlier than usual. We will have to see about Quick and Silver. He won going a mile at Golden Gate, so I think he can get a mile and a sixteenth here. It probably depends on how fast they go early. Amadeo isn’t the kind of rider to get carried away early, so hopefully the pace won’t be too quick.”

Modern is the other speed, and the classy 8-year-old will break from post 3 with Antonio Reyes riding.

Trained by Dino Condilenios, he was voted the top older horse and sprinter in B.C. last year, and since 2015 most of the stakes races for older horses have gone through him. In his last start, in the $50,000 George Royal on May 21, he dueled with Strate Remark before settling for third in the 6 1/2-furlong dash.

He has just one way of going, though, and it will be interesting to see how the race unfolds with Quick and Silver in the field.