Josie Carroll saddles two contenders

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Josie Carroll will be holding a strong hand Wednesday night at Woodbine when she sends out two uncoupled runners, High Volt Jolt and Bureaucratic, in the featured opener on the seven-race card.

High Volt Jolt will compete with a $62,500 tag in the 1 1/16-mile optional claimer with second-level allowance conditions. He was claimed for $40,000 here in November by owners Jim and Alice Sapara, who sent him to Santa Anita for the winter with Carroll.

In a $62,500 optional claimer in February, High Volt Jolt finished second to Magnum, who subsequently ran second in both the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap.

After recording another second-place finish in an optional claimer in March, High Volt Jolt was shipped back here and was second in the April 15 Jacques Cartier Stakes. He was a wide third most recently in the Grade 2 Vigil Stakes behind the Jacques Cartier winner, Judiths Wild Rush, last year's Canadian champion sprinter.

Constant Montpellier will ride High Volt Jolt, who has an excellent record at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

Bureaucratic was beaten a combined 38 lengths in his two Santa Anita outings over the winter, both around two turns. He cut back to seven furlongs in a first-level allowance here April 30, and rallied wide for a half-length score after stumbling at the break.

David Clark, who retains the mount on Bureaucratic, has 3 wins from 8 mounts for Carroll at the meeting.

Rounding out the first-race field are Long Pond, Getaway Candidate, Laughing Moon, and Lettherebejustice.

Long Pond, who was scratched from a turf race last Sunday in favor of this spot, will go with a $62,500 tag.

Trained by Mark Casse, Long Pond returned from an extended layoff to capture a $62,500 optional claimer at seven furlongs April 14. He came up empty in a subsequent $80,000 event, and is running with a claiming price for the first time in his career.

Getaway Candidate was competitive in each of his three starts here last spring, before going to the sidelines. He showed nothing going three-quarters when he resurfaced April 16, but was victorious in a 1 1/16-mile first-level allowance May 14.

Apprentice Dean Deverall will get a leg up on Getaway Candidate from Dave Cotey, the former trainer of High Volt Jolt.

Laughing Moon is experimenting around two turns with a sprint-oriented pedigree. He captured a first-level allowance two weeks ago.