Past winners seek to revive their careers

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Sparklin Kat and Bullseye Bill, stakes winners at 2, look to get untracked in Sunday's Hastings feature, a $35,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds going 6 1/2 furlongs. Sparklin Kat is one of four fillies in the six-horse field.

Bullseye Bill, owned by Lorne MacDougall, was one of the leaders of the 2-year-old division at Hastings last year, but hasn't progressed as a 3-year-old. As a juvenile, he won the New Westminster Stakes and placed in the Jack Diamond Futurity, but his best race this year, a fourth-place finish in the City of Vancouver Stakes, came in his initial start of the year on May 10.

After finishing a distant last in a $50,000 optional race on July 13, he was turned over to trainer Barbara Heads. He has had three solid works leading up to Sunday's race, and should get an aggressive ride by leading jockey Pedro Alvarado.

Sparklin Kat, who will be ridden by Felipe Valdez, won two of her three starts as a 2-year old, including an upset score in the Lassie Stakes. She was shipped east this spring but only ran once at Fort Erie, finishing last in a $32,000 optional sprint July 21.

She has had three sharp works leading up to her return race and should get a nice stalking trip behind what figures to be a hotly contested battle up front between April Foolish and Johnny's Cache.

Sparklin Kat and Johnny's Cache are trained by Peter Stephen.

Ruby's Orchid is coming off a front-running win over $20,000 older nonwinners-of-two Sept. 13, That was her first race since June 28, and she's certainly eligible to move forward here. Both of her wins were gate-to-wire affairs, however, and she's not likely to see the lead with April Foolish drawn on the rail.