Looks like Fred's last big hurrah

EDMONTON, Alberta - The first running of the $50,000 Sales Handicap for colts and geldings, 4-year-olds and upward, is the feature here Saturday, and trainer Ron Grieves is hoping the addition to the stakes schedule will allow his favorite horse, Code Name Fred, to add one last stakes victory to his resume.

Leading up to Code Name Fred's fourth-place finish in the $75,000 Alberta Breeder's Handicap here Sept. 25, Grieves admitted the horse was likely competing at the stakes level for the final time in his career. But Code Name Fred appears to be well placed here, facing a group that has been running in claiming and allowance races for the most part.

While Code Name Fred, a winner of $431,726 lifetime, remains competitive against the top older horses in the province at 8, the writing is on the wall for him.

Code Name Fred will start from post 6 in the field of seven and will run as an entry along with Topwynson.

Code Name Fred's primary challenge is expected to come from Parlay's Prospect, who finished third in the Alberta Breeders'.

Another of the contenders in this race with experience at the stakes level is Double Doc, who had a decent campaign in 2003 as a 3-year-old when he won almost $75,000. This year, however, has been a different story, and trainer Janet Wig is hoping Double Doc can regain the form that led him to victory in the Sales Stakes for 3-year-olds here last September.