Holy Force could be tough to catch
Holy Force is looking for her first win this year and could get it in a $25,000 optional-claiming race Wednesday at Northlands Park. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint for fillies and mares drew five horses and goes as Race 2 on a seven-race card that begins at 6:30 p.m. Mountain.
Trained by Tim Rycroft, Holy Force is coming off two solid efforts and appears to be sitting on a win. She chased but couldn’t catch Momma’s Gone Wild while going six furlongs for the same condition in her last start Aug. 26. It was the third straight win for Momma’s Gone Wild. In her previous start, Holy Force hopped at the start when she finished third as the favorite in a similar race Aug. 7. In both races, she missed getting her picture taken by a neck.
She has shown improved speed in her last two starts, and if she breaks alertly with Rico Walcott retaining the mount, she could be gone. Holy Force drew post 3.
Wine Not Whiskey, trained by Amanda Gregory, easily handled Holy Force in a $25,000 optional-claiming race July 22. However, there was a lot of speed in the field, and after breaking from the outside post, Holy Force was forced to steady when Walcott dropped her in behind horses in order to save ground going into the first turn.
Wine Not Whiskey came back to finish fourth in a $35,000 optional-claiming race Aug. 3 and hasn’t raced since.
KEY CONTENDERS
Holy Force (Last 3 Beyers: 72-63-53)
◗ She is trending in the right direction and should be the controlling speed.
◗ Rycroft has been on a roll at Northlands and had a big day Sunday at Hastings, where he won the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby with the 3-year-old filly Academic and the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks with Hero’s Amor.
Wine Not Whiskey (Last 3 Beyers: 60-64-56)
◗ The nine-time winner looked good beating Holy Force two back and could be dangerous if Hi Diddy can put enough pressure on Holy Force to soften her up.
Quality Lane (Last 3 Beyers: 50-56-57)
◗ Trained by Joan Petrowski, she won the $49,000 Northlands Oaks two back and will appreciate the substantial class relief after being overmatched in the Grade 3 Canadian Derby.
Hi Diddy (Last 3 Beyers: 55-51-31)
◗ The lightly raced 4-year-old filly trained by Mike Halabi is coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes in first-level allowance races and could be sitting on a peak performance in just her third start this year.