Harwood fine-tuning her 3-year-olds

AUBURN, Wash. – This is 3-year-old season in the racing game, and trainer Doris Harwood has her hands on a slew of good ones. Del Rio Harbor, the leading 2-year-old here a year ago, was victorious in his season debut last Sunday, Noosito will make his first start of the season in a stakes race May 25, and stablemate Kenai King is on the fast track as well.

On the distaff side, Harwood’s best is Charismata, a Curlin filly with abundant natural speed and the pedigree to run all day. She will be a leading contender Saturday in Emerald’s featured race, an $18,900 first-level allowance at 5 1/2 furlongs. First post for the nine-race card is 2 p.m. Pacific.

Charismata was a distant runner-up behind eye-catching winner Strawberry Dawn in her first start of the year. She was unable to match strides with Strawberry Dawn after jumping to an early lead. Charismata was a little too keen, Harwood said, so she will race without blinkers Saturday.

“She’s the kind who comes out and runs as fast as she can go and as far as she can go,” Harwood said. “That’s why the blinkers are coming off. We’re going to try to get her to relax.”

Bred in Kentucky by Seattleites Ivor and Jack Jones, Charismata is out of a Broad Brush mare, giving her the pedigree to go on. But that can’t happen until she learns to ration her speed.

“Charismata is absolutely plugged in; when you get on her, she is very serious,” Harwood said. “My challenge this year is to get her to settle better. It’s not that she does anything wrong – she just wants to go, right now.”

While Charismata advances toward another stakes race – she finished third in the Barbara Shinpoch Stakes in her final start of 2013 – Harwood is busy preparing Del Rio Harbor and Noosito for the $50,000 Auburn Handicap on May 25. Del Rio Harbor scored a front-running victory in a no-conditions allowance race last Sunday, zipping 5 1/2 furlongs on a sloppy track in 1:03.65. Noosito won a restricted stakes race last year but hasn’t started since September.

“I’ll train him up to the stakes, and that’s it,” Harwood said of Noosito. “He’s a lot taller this year; he grew a whole bunch straight up. We’re really excited about him, too. I mean, I am loaded with 3-year-olds. It’s a nice problem to have. But I have to run him first to see if he can beat Del Rio Harbor.”