Larissa’s Love the one to catch in Saturday sprint

It is difficult to separate the five fillies and mares running in a $25,000 optional-claiming race that will serve as the feature at Northlands Park on Saturday. The six-furlong sprint kicks off the eight-race card that begins at 1 p.m. Mountain.

Larissa’s Love looks like the speed of the speed and will appreciate the move back to a sprint after finishing second as the 4-5 favorite going a mile in a $17,500 claiming race June 5. On May 16, she just missed as the 6-5 favorite in a $17,500 claiming race going six furlongs.

Trained by Greg Tracy, she figures to be favored with leading rider Rico Walcott riding.

Lucy Q also looks like a strong possibility. Trained by Amanda Gregory, she is coming off a sharp win over Momma’s Gone Wild going 6 1/2 furlongs in a $17,500 claiming race June 13. She has good speed but can stalk and likely will be sitting just off Larissa’s Love early. She ran a similar race in her last start, and the 65 Beyer Speed Figure she received is the best last-race number in the field. Jorge Espitia retains the mount.

KEY CONTENDERS

Lucy Q (Last 3 Beyers: 65-50-39)

A 4-year-old, she may have some upside potential and could be sitting on a peak performance in the third start of her form cycle.

Larissa’s Love (Last 3 Beyers: 51-58-36)

She could be the one they have to catch and could be gone if she breaks on top.

Following her solid effort going around three turns, she came back with a bullet four-furlong move in 46.80 seconds June 19.

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the past five years at Northlands, Tracy has a 28 percent strike rate with horses going from a route to a sprint.

Caro’s Song (Last 3 Beyers: 61-61-41)

Trained by Ron Grieves, she is coming off a third-place finish behind Salsa Express and Eyes Her Man in a much tougher race at the same level. Salsa Express won for the 25th time in that race, and Eyes Her Man romped by 4 1/2 lengths in a $35,000 optional-claiming race last Friday night.

Tempered Sky (Last 3 Beyers: 39-32-63)

She wants more distance, but she won going 6 1/2 furlongs when she came back from a seven-month layoff last year, and she might have tipped her hand when she worked a bullet three furlongs in 36 seconds flat Wednesday.

According to DRF Formulator, in the past five years, trainer Jennifer Shafer has won with 19 percent of her starters who were coming back from a layoff of 180 days or more.