Northlands Park: Footprint out for second straight stakes win

Footprint will try to make it two straight stakes wins when he runs in the $50,000 Don Fleming Handicap for 3-year-olds and up at Northlands Park Friday. The 1 1/16-mile feature drew seven horses, but if Footprint runs as well as he did in the Spangled Jimmy, he is going to be very tough to beat.

Local thoroughbreds will take a break this Saturday and Sunday when Northlands will be hosting chuck-wagon racing July 23 through July 26. Live thoroughbred racing resumes next Wednesday.

Footprint couldn’t have been more impressive in his win over his nemesis Salt Flat Speed in the one-mile Spangled Jimmy July 2. Salt Flat Speed was almost unbeatable at Northlands last year, and Footprint chased him home in three straight stakes: third in the Journal and Spangled Jimmy and second in the Don Fleming. He couldn’t get past Salt Flat Speed again when they met in the Journal on June 11, but he turned the tables with a sharp 6 3/4-length romp in his last start.

Footprint, the 2007 Grade 3 Canadian Derby winner, has been trained his whole career by Joan Petrowski. She took his win over Salt Flat Speed in the Journal in stride and was hoping for another good race Friday.

“He has been trying all along,” she said. “He might have peaked for the race and it might not have been Salt Flat Speed’s day. “

Footprint has enough speed to be in the race right from the start but Petrowski wasn’t sure if that was the way she wanted the race to unfold.

“He can go either way,” she said. “We’ll take a closer look at the horses he’s running against before we make up our minds on which way we want to go.”

Anthony Salgado retains the mount.

Cool Kahuna could provide an honest pace. Trained by James McCullough, Cook Kahuna is coming off a win in a $30,000 claiming race going 6 1/2 furlongs July 5.

If a duel does develop, it would play into the hands of Professor Pollard and Andiotis, who are trained by Jim Meyaard.

Professor Pollard is coming off of a win in a six-furlong $40,000 optional race June 17. The last time he went around three turns he won the restricted $50,000 Beaufort by over 10-lengths.

Andiotis finished a distant fourth in the Spangled Jimmy but he should appreciate the move to a distance he has won two of his three starts at.