Miss Prospector apt to improve in Hastings allowance
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Miss Prospector will try to make amends for her loss as the heavy favorite in a non-winners of three allowance race on May 10 when she makes her second start of the year at the same level Monday at Hastings. The 6 1/2-furlong dash headlines a seven-race card that begins at 6:00 p.m. It goes as race 4 and is part of the Jackpot Pick 6, which begins on the second race with a $24,930 carryover.
Owned and trained by Glen Todd, Miss Prospector was coming off a win last August in the $50,000 Hong Kong Jockey Club when she set a face pace under pressure before fading to finish fourth in her comeback race.
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“I was a bit shocked because I thought she had been training better than any horse in the barn,” said Todd, “but she was hot in the paddock and never settled on post parade. She did that in her first start last year before coming back to win the stakes. Hopefully she’ll be more settled on Monday.”
Todd was referring to her third-place finish in an open allowance race for fillies and mares in her only other start in 2020 on July 7. Similar to her latest outing, she was in the mix early before fading to finish fifth in the six-furlong dash won by Warrior’s Promise, whom she will have to deal with on Monday.
Miss Prospector will break from the inside post with Efren Hernandez retaining the mount.
Butterscotch Blend, third in Warrior’s Promise’s win last year, will break from post 2 with Alex Marti riding. In her first start at the meet, she came from a stalking position to finish second in a $16,000 claimer for nonwinners of three on May 17.
A stakes winner as a 3-year-old, the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Mission Impazible figures to move forward for trainer Rob Gilker, who the past five years has a 29 percent strike rate and $2.40 ROI with horses making their second start following a layoff of 180 days or more.
Under similar circumstances last year she romped and received a career-best 77 Beyer Speed Figure. The runner-up in the conditioned allowance, Solarity, won two of her next four starts including the $38,000 Red K. Smith at Century Mile.
Tuesday’s feature is for 3-year-olds and up at the same level and distance as Monday’s main event.
Bold Arch, trained by John Morrison, will try to prove his 6 1/4-length romp in a $20,000 claimer for nonwinners of three on May 18 was no fluke.
The 4-year-old British Columbia-bred gelding was not much of a factor in his first start as an older horse in a conditioned allowance race on May 3. The six-furlong sprint was won by Be Quick, who repeated in an open allowance race for 3-year-olds last Monday.
Morrison took the blinkers off for Bold Arch’s latest start and the veteran trainer got the desired result as he led at every call with Scott Williams riding.
“He stumbled in his first start this year and he’s had back luck in some of his other races,” said Morrison. “He’s going very well and I expect big things from him.”
Efren Hernandez picks up the call from Williams who, according to his agent Gord Rumble, is out indefinitely with a fractured foot caused by a training accident Thursday morning.
Bold Arch will break from post 2.
Cascade Billy looks like the main threat. Trained by Mel Snow, he came from a stalking position to finish second in Be Quick’s win on May 3.
The 4-year-old son of Bakken may have tipped his hand when he came back to work a blistering four furlongs in 45.80 on May 22.
Cascade Billy will break from the outside post in the six-horse field with Silvino Morales riding. He is versatile and could be dangerous from a stalking position.
Just about any horse in the field could win the competitive race, including Erlich, who has been training forwardly for trainer Kim Kozak.
He has never come close to the 95 Beyer Speed Figure he received for his blowout win in the slop in a maiden special weight race at Aqueduct in 2019, but has never looked as sharp in the mornings since arriving at Hastings two starts later.
Casino might reopen July 1
With COVID-19 numbers shrinking in British Columbia and the number of people getting vaccinated rising, the casino at Hastings might be reopened on July 1. Whether the rest of the facility will be open is not clear, however.
There are still a lot of variables involved, so the July 1 date is not set in stone.
“We are working diligently on our reopening plans for Hastings Racecourse, and will be sharing more details on those plans with our team and industry stakeholders as soon as we are able to,” said Chuck Keeling, executive vice-president for Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, the operators of Hastings.