Saturday Nite Ride likely to be out front in Saturday feature

There isn’t much doubt that Saturday Nite Ride will be named the 2013 champion older filly or mare at the Night of Champions dinner May 10. It’s also a given that she will be heavily favored to win her first start of the year in a $35,000 optional-claiming race that goes as the fourth race at Northlands Park on Saturday.

The six-furlong sprint drew five horses, including the classy 9-year-old mare Salsa Express, who has compiled an enviable record of 21-15-10 from 53 starts.

Post time for the first of nine races is 1 p.m. Mountain.

Trained by Dennis Terry, Saturday Nite Ride dominated the Madamoiselle and the City of Edmonton in her two starts at Northlands last year. With Aaron Gryder aboard, she broke on top in both races and never looked back. She closed out the season with a couple of disappointing efforts at Hastings in the Delta Colleen and the Grade 3 Ballerina.

Nonetheless, she runs well fresh and has been very sharp while training at Hastings this spring.

Quincy Welch rides Saturday Nite Ride for the first time and likely will put her into the race right from the start.

Tell Me Lies, trained by Greg Tracy, also has good speed and used it to win three stakes at Northlands last year, including the $56,240 Sonoma. She has been training forwardly at Turf Paradise, and in her only work at Northlands, she earned a bullet for her five-furlong move around the dogs April 23.

Sharing the spotlight is a similar race for 3-year-olds and up that drew seven horses and goes as the eighth race.

Hoist, also trained by Terry, has the best speed and figures to be dangerous from the inside post with Welch riding.

High Test rallied to win a couple of starts in $20,000 and $25,000 claiming races at Golden Gate Fields on Feb. 23 and March 27. The Rod Cone trainee should appreciate what figures to be a fast and contested pace.