Lots of early speed in Sausalito

ALBANY, Calif. - How much longer Trickey Trevor will compete is open to question, but the 8-year-old horse can wind up his 2007 campaign with a victory Friday in the $75,000 Sausalito Stakes at Golden Gate Fields.

That he may not be as quick out of the gate as he used to be may prove beneficial for Trickey Trevor, who drew the outside post in a field of eight runners competing in the six-furlong sprint.

Friday's pace could be a hot one, with several horses who like to run on the lead, including Relato Del Gato, who can burn off sub-44-second half-miles, the improving 3-year-old Tribesman, Barber, and Immigration.

Trickey Trevor and stablemate Another Kris can settle in nicely behind the dueling leaders, as can The Pharaoh. Big Bad Leroybrown will likely find himself last early.

"Both my horses have some speed and can sit close," said Jerry Hollendorfer, who trains Trickey Trevor and Another Kris.

Trickey Trevor has won six stakes. While he's won only three times in the past two years, those victories all came in sprint stakes. He won last year's Grade 2 Churchill Downs Handicap on Kentucky Derby Day and the Oakland Handicap here this spring and the Sam Whiting at Pleasanton.

Trickey Trevor can get a stalking trip and stay to the outside for a clear trip to the finish line.

Relato Del Gato seems the quickest of the front-runners. He missed by a neck after setting the pace in the Grade 3 Morvich at 6 1/2 furlongs down the Santa Anita hillside turf course in his last start Oct. 27.

Tribesman might give Relato Del Gato trouble on the front. He ran a 44.07-second half-mile despite being bumped at the start in a nine-length second-level allowance victory on Nov. 4 at Bay Meadows.

"He ran really good," trainer Roger Hansen said. "We were going to try to sit a bit off the pace, but he really did it on his own."

Tribesman has the best last-race Beyer Speed Figure in the field, a 100, and he still has room for improvement, Hansen said.

"He's better than we thought he would be," he said of Tribesman, a Kjell Qvale homebred. "He's matured physically and gained a lot of experience. He's run against some really good horses in his career."

Barber's lone stakes victory came in wire-to-wire style this summer in the Blue Jay Way at Del Mar, and he's capable of contesting the lead. Immigration, another wire-to-wire sprint stakes winner, may be hard pressed to get the lead in this field.