Pimlico: Trickle of Gold formidable

Trickle of Gold, one of the East Coast's top female sprinters, will be a solid favorite to win her third straight start in the $75,000 Skipat for filly and mare sprinters on closing day at Pimlico.

The 4-year-old Trickle of Gold, based at Delaware with trainer Mike Gorham, set a track record for 5 1/2 furlongs there a month ago and came back two weeks later to capture the six-furlong Sweet 'n Sassy Stakes.

The six-furlong distance of the Skipat is ideal for Trickle of Gold, who is 7 for 9 in sprints of similar length.

Contrast and Career Oriented, both exiting the 5 1/2-furlong Red Cross at Monmouth, are capable if Trickle of Gold runs something less than her best race.

The lightly raced Contrast is 3 for 4, including a 1 3/4-length score as the even-money favorite in the Red Cross.

Career Oriented, a stakes winner at Monmouth last summer, had some brief trouble at the start of the Red Cross, and is eligible to improve making her second start since last fall.