Roaring Red adds color to Whiting

PLEASANTON, Calif. - Roaring Red, a multiple stakes-placed sprinter, looks well-placed to score his initial stakes victory when he meets five other older runners in the $50,000 Sam J. Whiting Memorial Handicap at six furlongs at the Alameda County Fair on Saturday.

Roaring Red, from the Bill Morey stable, has been freshened a bit since finishing fourth in a pair of stakes at Golden Gate Fields and should be tough if he is set for one of his top efforts. His work pattern looks fine and he has raced well fresh before.

The main question is whether Flom's Prospector will run back to his last race-a devastating, 7 1/2-length victory in the Saratoga Handicap at Bay Meadows on May 26. He posted a superb 104 Beyer Speed Figure in that race. If he repeats it, he is the one to beat, but take that race out of his past performances and he is nothing more than one of the major contenders in this race. Prior to that 14-1 upset, he had won a second-level allowance/$40,000 optional claiming race by two lengths with a 92 Beyer. Brian Koriner is the trainer.

Roaring Red has more proven class, as he has been second in a number of stakes, including the Montclair and Albany Handicaps at the recent Golden Gate meeting. He also has raced well over this track, finishing second in last year's Whiting, while Flom's Prospector will be making his first start here.

Others in the field are Mistakenly Special, Lacey Evitan, Today a Star and You And You Alone, and all have credentials.

Mistakenly Special has been freshened since finishing third in the mile San Carlos Handicap at Bay Meadows April 29. Prior to that, he won a minor stakes in Phoenix by nearly seven lengths with a 99 Beyer.

Lacey Evitan finished sixth to Flom's Prospector in the Saratoga, but he has won at the second allowance level, which puts him on par with most of these, and has a "home field" advantage, as he is stabled here year-round.

Today a Star finished seventh and last in the Saratoga while returning from a long layoff and seems capable of better, while You and You Alone won a second-level allowance race June 6 at Bay Meadows in just his fifth career start and has every right to improve.