Killin Me Smalls looks to break through in Sun Sprint Championship

Killin Me Smalls, the 2015 Horse of the Year in Alberta, hasn’t run a bad race this year. He just hasn’t won, finishing second in all three of his races. He’ll try to set the rudder straight when he runs in the $50,000 Sun Sprint Championship Handicap at Northlands Park on Monday. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up drew eight horses and headlines a 10-race card that begins at 1 p.m. Mountain.

Supporting the Sun Sprint are both divisions of the $50,000 Two Year Old Sales Stakes. Norm’s Big Bucks looks like a standout in the colts-and-geldings division. Parcam Cowgirl and Tidal Mist look like the main players in the fillies’ division. Both races are at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Trained by Ernie Keller, Killin Me Smalls won five of his seven starts last year, including a victory in the Grade 3 Premier’s at Hastings. He broke on top in the 1 3/8-mile race and never looked back while easily beating the top older horse in Vancouver, Square Dancer. He ran a similar race going the same distance in the $82,000 Speed to Spare at Northlands.

He also can sprint. He romped in his first two starts last year going six furlongs in a $35,000 optional claimer and the $53,000 Journal Handicap.

With the Speed to Spare and Premier’s on the horizon, it is a bit surprising to see Killin Me Smalls cutting back in distance after his runner-up finish behind Blue Dancer going 1 1/16 miles in the $50,000 Fred Jones on July 16. He was ridden by Rico Walcott. The next route stakes at Northlands is the Westerner on Aug. 20.

“It’s just a matter of scheduling,” said Keller. “He’ll run in both races, and we’ll go from there. There’s nothing wrong with the way he’s been running, it’s just that Blue Dancer has been running better.”

Killin Me Smalls likes to be involved early, and there is plenty of other speed in the Sun Sprint. He doesn’t have to be on the lead to win, though.

“I expect he’ll be close,” said Keller.

Keishan Balgobin picks up the mount from Walcott, who is riding at Hastings on Monday.

Red Red Rose is one of the many speed horses in the field, and trainer Tim Rycroft is hoping that taking the blinkers off will help keep him focused. Red Red Rose set a past pace before being overtaken by Blue Dancer in his last start in the $51,000 Journal on May 28.

“When he gets to the lead, he gets very relaxed, and with the blinkers on, he doesn’t see the horses coming up to him until it’s too late,” said Rycroft. “Hopefully, without them, he will be more aware of what’s going on behind him.”

Leading trainer Greg Tracy will be represented by Capitalism, who beat Killin Me Smalls in a $35,000 optional claimer in their first starts this year June 11, and Bear’s Reality, who is coming off a win in the $25,000 Free Press Stakes at Assiniboia Downs on June 19.

Capitalism was moved up to first in the Three and Four Year Old Sales Stakes in his last start July 1.

◗ Rycroft has an excellent chance of winning the colts-and-geldings division of the Two Year Old Sales Stakes with Norm’s Big Bucks. He is owned by Riversedge Racing Stables Ltd., which paid big bucks, $95,000, for the son of Exhi at the 2015 Alberta Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s fall mixed sale last September. It was the highest price paid for a yearling in Alberta since 1979.

Norm’s Big Bucks was an easy winner when he debuted in a maiden special weight race going 3 1/2 furlongs on June 11. He may have tipped his hand when he worked a bullet five furlongs in 59.60 seconds on July 19.

“He’s a real athlete,” said Rycroft. “He’s got a real turn of foot and quite a few gears.”

Balgobin picks up the mount from Walcott.

◗ Rycroft also has a shot with Tidal Mist in the fillies’ division. The daughter of Numanny hopped at the start of the $55,000 Princess Margaret on July 16, and after pressing the pace, she tired to finish third behind Ruffenuff. Only three horses ran in the six-furlong dash.

The horse she will have to beat is Parcam Cowgirl, the runner-up in the Princess Margaret. A daughter of Kodiak Kowboy, Parcam Cowgirl won a $20,000 maiden-claiming race going 3 1/2 furlongs when she debuted for trainer Dale Saunders on June 29.