Reed loaded for Heritage Place Futurity

Trainer Rodney Reed will play a strong hand in Saturday's Grade 1, $453,578 Heritage Place Futurity at Remington Park, with four finalists, including two of the top three qualifiers.

Reed will saddle fastest qualifier Fast First Prize, third-fastest qualifier Jazzy Corona, eighth-fastest qualifier Shake Em Rita Ballou, and ninth-fastest qualifier Quick Coverage.

Fast First Prize looks like a filly peaking at an opportune time. She finished a close second in a maiden race on April 21, but came back with an impressive Heritage Place Futurity trial win on May 10.

Her time of 17.699 seconds for 350 yards easily topped the qualifiers' list.

Fast First Prize won her trial by a length over second-fastest qualifier The Key to the Bank and One Corona For Me. Both runners-up qualified, making it the only trial from 17 to produce more than one finalist. The Key to the Bank came into this trial after finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Remington Park Futurity.

Jazzy Corona won her maiden race in her third start when she dominated her trial by 2 1/4 lengths. She was narrowly beaten in her first two outs.

Shake Em Rita Ballou finished second in the Grade 1 Blue Ribbon Futurity at Blue Ribbon Downs for Reed. In her Remington Park debut she won her Heritage Place trial by a half-length.

Quick Coverage, 10th in the Remington Park Futurity, won her Heritage Place Futurity trial by 1 1/4 lengths.

A Real derby double

Bill Price's homebred A Real Man, winner of the Grade 1 Remington Park Derby, will go after a derby double at Remington in the $115,095 Heritage Place Derby on Saturday.

A Real Man has been sensational for trainer Eddie Willis, with five straight wins since running fifth in the Dash for Cash Futurity Consolation on Oct. 13. During his streak he has wins in the Texas Classic Futurity Consolation and the Remington Park Derby, in a track record 19.533 seconds for 400 yards.

He is the fastest qualifier to the Heritage Place Futurity, with a 20.074-second time for the 400 yards.

There were three trials on May 11 with each trial held during a 25-mile per hour headwind.

Challenging A Real Man will be the All American Futurity third-place finisher, Ms Wandas Fortune, and the Valley Junction Futurity winner, Dashin for Penny.

Dashing Knud meets Chiarascuro

Millionaire Dashing Knud will meet fastest qualifier Chiarascuro in the $71,730 Grade 2 MBNA America California Challenge on Saturday night at Los Alamitos.

Dashing Knud, owned by the Vessels Stallion Farm and Gordon Knudson, was named the 2000 champion 2-year-old gelding on the strength of Grade 1 wins in the Los Alamitos Million, the Golden State Futurity, and the Ed Burke Memorial Futurity.

In three starts this year he won his California Challenge trial and an allowance race, and was second in the Grade 3 Kaweah Bar Handicap.

Chiarascuro, third behind champion Corona Kool in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Championship, topped the California Challenge qualifiers by winning the second of two trials, held on May 17, in 21.625 seconds for the 440 yards.

The California Challenge winner qualifies for the $300,000 MBNA America Challenge Championship on Nov. 2 at Lone Star Park.