Jim Coleman Province should begin to sort out 3-year-old division

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – It is hard to separate the contenders from the pretenders in the $50,000 Jim Coleman Province for 3-year-olds on Sunday at Hastings. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew nine horses, and the race should give a better idea of which horses have moved forward enough over the winter to be considered serious players on the road to the Grade 3, $250,000 British Columbia Derby on Sept. 13.

Trained by Craig MacPherson, Bluegrass Angus has been training like a horse who has improved. He flashed good speed in all three of his starts here last year and closed out his juvenile campaign with an easy win over Aditya in a maiden special weight race Sept. 20.

In his next start, he was thrown to the wolves in the $100,000 Spectacular Bid on Jan. 3 at Gulfstream Park, where he was hopelessly overmatched by Barbados and Ready for Rye, both of whom came back to win graded stakes.

MacPherson is hoping that a little surgery and easier company will help get Bluegrass Angus back on track.

“He’s been a pretty nervous horse, but he seems to be a bit more relaxed since we gelded him earlier this month,” said MacPherson. “You just never know how they developed over the winter until they actually run. We’ll know more about it after the race.”

Bluegrass Angus will break from post 4 with Richard Hamel aboard.

Aditya, trained by Anita Bolton, could end up being favored in the wide-open race. He has good tactical speed and could get a nice trip stalking what should be a hotly contested pace.

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KEY CONTENDERS

Aditya (Beyers: 63-46)

◗ The first foal to race out of the multiple stakes-winning mare Remarkable Miss may have tipped his hand when he worked a bullet three furlongs out of the gate Wednesday with exercise rider Drew Levere aboard.

Bluegrass Angus (Last 3 Beyers: 46-59-56)

◗ An easy winner the last time he ran here, he could be dangerous as a first-time gelding.

Catz on Fire (Last 3 Beyers: 65-57-59)

◗ He won for fun the only time he ran on dirt and is coming off a sharp score in a $40,000 starter race on Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields. Trained by Barbara Heads, he is the only horse in the field not coming off a lengthy layoff.

Cederberg (Beyers: 58-42)

◗ Undefeated for trainer Troy Taylor in two front-running efforts last year, he will get seriously tested right from the start in this speed-laden field.