Northern Linchpin may be worth a venture in Sunday’s $5,000 claiming feature over six furlongs at Emerald Downs. The daughter of Linchpin is a lightly raced 4-year-old who won a maiden race July 12 in her first start in nearly four months. In her only start since the win, the Charles Essex trainee drew the rail and battled hard from inside for most of the race before fading slightly in the stretch. On Sunday, Northern Linchpin will be making her second start versus winners and third start off a layoff. Five others will face the William Hasenoehrl colorbearer, and there are many chances among them. Silver Lightening ships in from Del Mar, where she raced for the first time in 11 months on July 28. In that race she flashed early speed and then retreated to finish last at the $12,500 nonwinners-of-two level. She arrived to the local barn of Justin Evans, and if she is able to improve in her second start of 2024 she’ll be a major force Sunday. Candied Joule is a relatively consistent runner who has been earning steady checks at Sunday’s class level. She lacked room during much of her last race on Aug. 4, when she finished fifth, beaten 6 1/2 lengths. The daughter of Sea Candy Ride has made three starts since being claimed by trainer Scott Tubbs, who quipped, “She has just enough speed to get in trouble.” “She had nowhere to go when she was ready to make her run,” Tubbs said of her last race, “and got a little discouraged and didn’t finish like I thought she could have.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Another in the field is Princess Payton, whose career began in sharp fashion at Emerald Downs back in 2022. Since then, the Tom Wenzel-trained filly has fallen on hard times, going through her 2023 campaign without so much as reaching the top four in five starts. In her most recent race, Princess Payton came from well back to finish third at the $4,000 nonwinners-of-two level and she will hope to find plenty of pace to chase Sunday. Chrome’s Best Copy is cutting back in distance and stepping down in class while bringing considerable tactical speed to the group. The Tena Birdwell trainee has raced one mile in each of her past three starts, winning a maiden race June 14. Last time out, on July 27, the daughter of California Chrome stopped abruptly and finished last. Also in the field Sunday is Harbor Lass, a maiden winner at the $5,000 claiming level July 28, when she covered one mile in a slow 1:42.59. That resulted in a Beyer Speed Figure of 21. ◗ Sunday’s card will be bolstered by a pair of Quarter Horse stakes, including the $30,000 John Deere Juvenile Challenge and the $40,000 Bank of America Emerald Challenge. Those will be run as races 2 and 3 on the eight-race card. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.