Red-hot Candorosa at best distance in starter allowance

Candorosa will put her three-race winning streak on the line in a $10,000 starter race Sunday at Emerald Downs. The one-mile race for fillies and mares drew seven horses and goes as race 7 on an eight-race card that begins at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Candorosa sat just off the pace before pulling away in the stretch to win an $8,000 waiver-claiming race going 5 1/2 furlongs for trainer Sharon Ross on May 5. It was Candorosa’s first start since she reeled off back-to-back wins at Emerald in conditional claimers on Aug. 11 and Sept. 8. The wins were credited to Ross’s husband, Larry Ross.

The Rosses have always worked as a team, and Larry is still heavily involved in the stable. However, he now spends more of his time at their farm in Auburn, Wash., and lets Sharon run the barn at the track. They were inducted into the Washington Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2016.

Candorosa is stepping up in class, but she will appreciate the move to the distance of four of her five wins. She will break from post 5 with Franklin Ceballos riding.

KEY CONTENDERS

Candorosa, by Harbor the Gold
Last 3 Beyers: 56-59-56

◗ The 6-year-old Washington-bred mare is on a roll, as is Sharon Ross, who going into the weekend had won with 33 percent of her starters at the meet. Adding to her appeal is a sharp interim work May 18.

Easter Dream, by Eddington
Last 3 Beyers: 58-71-59

◗ Trained by the red-hot Frank Lucarelli, she will try to make amends after finishing third as the heavy favorite in a $10,000 starter race April 28. She had an excuse, as she hopped at the start in the 5 1/2-furlong dash, and could be dangerous if she breaks with the field with Javier Matias riding.

◗ The 4-year-old California-bred has never won going around two turns, but her victory going seven furlongs in a $16,000 claiming race at Del Mar last Nov. 30 suggests a mile is well within her reach.

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Fortune’s Freude, by Freud
Last 3 Beyers: 69-44-60

◗ She took a big step forward in her first start as a 4-year-old, and her 69 Beyer Speed Figure from her victory in a $15,000 conditional claimer is easily the best last-race figure on dirt in this field.

◗ This will be her first try at a middle distance, but being the first foal out of two-time route winner Private Fortune, the runner-up in the Washington Oaks, she has the pedigree to handle the assignment.

◗ Another plus is her trainer, Kay Cooper, who over the past five years has an 18 percent strike rate and a $3.65 return on investment with horses going a mile or longer for the first time.