Northlands: Inca Beauty finds a softer spot in Friday feature

Inca Beauty will appreciate the class relief when she drops into a second-level optional claiming race for fillies and mares at Northlands Park Friday. The available claiming price for the one-mile race that drew a field of six is $30,000.

Inca Beauty, trained by Floyd Arthur, was on a bit of a roll before finishing sixth in the $50,000 Madamoiselle, which was won by Heidi Maria on Aug. 6. In her second start at the meet she easily handled Salsa Express in a six-furlong $22,000 claiming race June 13 for trainer Tim Rycroft. She was claimed out of the race by trainer Rod Cone, who brought her back in a one-mile $30,000 claiming race June 23.

Once again Inca Beauty was a sharp winner, and she was claimed by Arthur on behalf of Excel Farms. In her first start for her new connections she finished second to Smart Roar in a $40,000 optional claiming race going 6 1/2 furlongs.

Inca Beauty is versatile, and Ismael Mosqueira will likely put her into a stalking position behind Maegans Princesses and possibly Salsa Express.

Maegans Princesses is coming off a sharp win over Honorable Lady and Salsa Express in a second-level $30,000 optional claiming sprint July 20. Also in that field were River City Cat and Peaknatacat, who are both entered here.

Trained by Greg Tracy, Maegans Princesses might be pressed to carry her speed this far. She hasn’t been successful in three previous route attempts. In those 2011 races, she finished last in a one-mile stakes at Turfway, held on well to finish second in the one-mile $50,000 Oaks at Northlands, and then came back with a good effort in the 1 1/16-mile Sonoma, finishing third.

This will be her first time stretching out as a 4-year-old, but she figures to be under pressure from Salsa Express right from the start.

After losing to Mageans Princessess July 20, Salsa Express came back with a 2 1/2-length win over River City Cat in a six-furlong race with similar conditions Aug. 4. Trained by Ernie Keller, Salsa Express won’t mind the move to a mile, a distance at which she has compiled a 2-2-1 record from 6 starts.

River City Cat is coming off a second-place finish behind Salsa Express going six furlongs Aug. 4 and is looking for her first win going around three turns.