Senor Rojo tries to win Speed to Spare for third time

Senor Rojo will try to win the $75,000 Speed to Spare Stakes for the third time when he runs in the 1 3/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up at Northlands Park on Monday. The premier race for older handicap horses at Northlands attracted eight horses and headlines an eight-race card that begins at 1 p.m. Mountain.

Based at Hastings with trainer Dave Forster, Senor Rojo won the Speed to Spare in his first start at Northlands in 2011, finished third when he surprisingly set the pace in 2012, and was a convincing winner as the 4-5 favorite with Rico Walcott aboard in 2013. He is clearly the horse to beat with Walcott riding him for the first time since last year’s Speed to Spare.

“He’s doing well, likes the distance, and we’re always happy to have Rico riding for us,” Forster said.

The main threat could come from Killin Me Smalls, who was an impressive winner of the $51,000 Westerner with Ruben Lara riding him for the first time. Trained by Ernie Keller, Killin Me Smalls has tried a middle distance only twice in his 16-race career, and he easily handled 1 1/16 miles in his smart win Aug. 16.

“I thought he might come up short in the Westerner, but he was drawing away at the end,” said Keller. “He’s been training like a bear, so I think he’ll go this far.”

Lara retains the mount.

Speed to Spare Stakes, Race 7

KEY CONTENDERS

Senor Rojo (Last 3 Beyers: 81-78-76)

◗ A Grade 3 winner at the distance, he is coming off a couple of solid efforts at Hastings and appears to be peaking right now.

◗ DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Since 2011, Forster has won with 40 percent of his starters in non-graded stakes at Northlands.

Toccetive (Last 3 Beyers: 68-73-61)

◗ He won the Grade 3 Canadian Derby going this far and came right back to beat Senor Rojo in this race as a 3-year-old in 2012. Trained by Dale Greenwood, he also finished second in the Speed to Spare last year.

Killin Me Smalls (Last 3 Beyers: 86-32-67)

◗ The Ontario-bred 4-year-old was considered strictly a sprinter until he won the 1 1/16-mile Westerner. He is obviously a bit questionable at the distance but should be able to control the tempo right from the start.

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

◗ Trained by Phil Hall, he has the pedigree to run all day and finished in front of Senor Rojo in his last start at Hastings.