Rock and Glory towers over John Patrick rivals

Rock and Glory was well in hand when she crushed her opponents going six furlongs in the $50,000 Wild Rose Handicap on May 16 in her first start at Northlands Park. Given that she is a much better horse going a middle distance, the question becomes: Who is going to finish second in the $50,000 John Patrick Handicap at Northlands on Friday?

Post time for the one-mile race for fillies and mares is 9:26 p.m. Mountain.

There is no doubt that Rock and Glory, trained by Robertino Diodoro, will be a prohibitive favorite when she faces the same horses she dominated in the Wild Rose.

Actually, Rock and Glory never had won sprinting prior to her 3 1/2-length romp over Canaveral Leader in the Wild Rose, in which she was geared down by leading rider Rico Walcott after she took a seven-length lead into the stretch.

She was coming off a rare poor effort Feb. 14 in the $35,000 Sun City at Turf Paradise. Sent off as the 8-5 favorite in the one-mile race, she finished last after forcing a quick pace.

The three-month freshening cured whatever was bothering her, and she figures to be double tough breaking from the rail in her second start back with Walcott aboard.

Key contenders

Rock and Glory (Last 3 Beyers: 65-37-85)

* Though she finished last, she was good enough as a 4-year-old to be sent off at 5-2 in the Grade 1 Vanity at Hollywood Park. If she runs anything close to her usual race, they aren’t going to beat her.

Formulator fact: In non-graded stakes at Northlands over the past five years, Walcott has won with 43 percent of his mounts from Diodoro.

Consecrate (Last 3 Beyers: 43-48-21)

* Trained by Greg Tracy, she should appreciate the chance to stretch out for the first time this year and could be coming up to a peak performance in the third start of her form cycle.

* She came from off the pace to win the Northlands Oaks by 11 lengths last year, and there will be speed coming back to her.

Canaveral Leader (Last 3 Beyers: 56-56-3)

* Trained by Ron Grieves, she ran well in both of her sprints this year, and her last two wins came going around three turns in 2013, when she won the Northlands Oaks and the Duchess of York.

Formulator fact: Over the past five years, Grieves has a 23 percent strike rate with horses going from a sprint to a route.