Mr. Shadar tops Fall Classic nominations

Mr. Shadar heads the list of 75 horses nominated to the Fall Classic on Saturday. The Fall Classic features seven stakes races for Alberta-breds worth a total of $350,000.

Mr. Shadar, trained by Rick Hedge is nominated to both the 1 1/16-mile Alberta Breeders Handicap and the 6 1/2-furlong Red Diamond Express. Mr. Shadar has won three of his last four races, including the Sun Sprint Championship on Sept. 6. In his only loss during the span that began with a win over Inuit Fisher on July 28, Mr. Shadar finished second to Andiotis in the Westerner Handicap. Last year, he won the Beaufort Stakes for 3-year-olds on Fall Classic Day.

Cool Ventura, last year’s local horse of the year, is one of the nine horses nominated to the Alberta Breeders Handicap. Trained by Cody Anderson, Cool Ventura is coming off of a second in the $75,000 Speed to Spare on Aug. 21. In 2009, he followed up his win in the Speed to Spare with a romp in the Alberta Breeders Handicap.

Professor Pollard heads the list of 12 3-year-olds nominated to the Beaufort Stakes. In his last start, he was involved in a three-horse spill in the Canadian Derby won by No Hesitation. Prior to the Canadian Derby, he came from off the pace to beat Prince Intent in a $32,000 optional claimer on July 10 and also made a strong late move to finish second to No Hesitation in the Count Lathum on July 21.

◗ Just Call Me Duke looks like the one to beat in a $7,500 claiming race that will serve as Wednesday’s feature. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up drew eight horses and goes as race 8 on the nine-race card that begins at 6 p.m.