Senor Rojo tries to get his groove back in Sunday feature

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Senor Rojo will try and get back on track when he runs in a $35,000 optional-claiming race that will serve as Sunday’s feature at Hastings.

The Grade 3 winner is coming off a seventh-place finish as the favorite in the $75,000 Speed to Spare at Northlands Park Sept. 1. Nonetheless, he still looks like the one to beat in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up, which drew seven horses.

Trained by Dave Forster, Senor Rojo was sent off as the 6-5 favorite in the 1 3/8-mile Speed to Spare, but after stalking the pace for a mile, he came up empty.

With a Grade 3 win in the 2010 Premier’s and close to $450,000 in earnings, Senor Rojo is by far the class of Sunday’s field. An 8-year-old gelding by Out of Place, Senor Rojo was coming off three solid races at Hastings prior to his dull performance in the Speed to Spare. If he regains his previous form, he should be right there.

Dontmesswithkitten, trained by Cindy Krasner, could be the one they have to catch. He faded in his last two starts, but he was facing much tougher company in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs Aug. 24 and in the $50,000 S.W. Randall Plate at Hastings on Sept. 14.

KEY CONTENDERS

Senor Rojo (Last 3 Beyers: 61-81-78)

◗ He reportedly didn’t handle the surface at Northlands in the Speed to Spare, but he appeared to be on his toes when he worked a sharp three furlongs in 34.80 seconds at Hastings Thursday.

◗ He’s versatile and should get a nice trip from a stalking position.

◗ He is reunited with Amadeo Perez, who was aboard for his win the last time he ran at this level, which came on July 20.

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the past five years, Forster has a 26 percent strike rate with horses going a mile or longer.

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Dontmesswithkitten (Last 3 Beyers: 65-79-89)

◗ Prior to finishing ninth in the Longacres Mile and eighth in the Randall Plate, he earned an 89 Beyer Speed Figure for his second-place finish going 1 1/16 miles in the $50,000 Mt. Rainier on July 20 at Emerald.

Fransor’s Finest (Last 3 Beyers: 63-83-72)

◗ Trained by Phil Hall, he missed by a neck and edged Senor Rojo by three-quarters of a length in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race prior to a dull effort in the Speed to Spare.