Shooting Jacket can end skid in Sunday feature
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Shooting Jacket hasn’t won since he beat Bluegrass Pride in the $50,000 Chris Loseth Handicap on July 1, 2013. He has run a lot of good races since then, though.
He finished third in the Grade 3 Canadian Derby at Northlands Park and was third to Alert Bay in the Grade 3 Premiers at Hastings. And there was nothing wrong with his fifth-place finish in 2014 in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile, where Stryker Phd beat him by 4 3/4 lengths. Last year, he lost by a neck to local Horse of the Year Square Dancer in the S.W. Randall Plate.
Shooting Jacket has a good chance of ending his 18-race losing streak when he runs in an optional $35,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that headlines the eight-race card Sunday at Hastings. He is no cinch in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint that drew a solid field of eight horses, though.
This will be Shooting Jacket’s third race for trainer Nancy Betts and the Hastings Racing Club 11. The club, with almost 200 members, purchased him last winter from Swift Thoroughbreds Inc.
In his first start for Betts, he finished a close third in the $50,000 Swift Thoroughbreds Inaugural, won by Swift Thoroughbreds’s Modern. He was sent off as the 5-2 favorite when he came back in an optional $50,000 claiming race May 1 but couldn’t catch Sabado Alegre, who broke on top and cruised to an impressive win.
Shooting Jacket does his best running late, and there likely will be an honest and contested pace to set him up Sunday. If he gets a clean trip with Ruben Lara riding, the streak should end.
KEY CONTENDERS
Shooting Jacket, by Hard Spun
Last 3 Beyers: 82-79-83
◗ He could be sitting on a big effort in the third race of his form cycle, and the shape of the race should work for him.
Aditya, by Mass Market
Last 3 Beyers: 83-80-79
◗ Trained by Anita Bolton, Aditya likely will be the one in front early. He is making his first start since he finished third in the Richmond Derby Trial on Aug. 21, and he was very sharp when he worked a bullet four furlongs in 46.00 seconds on May 7.
Richter Red, by Yoonevano
Last 3 Beyers: 83-84-79
◗ Trained by Bolton, he is fast but can stalk. He led for all but the final jump when he was heavily favored in a $25,000 claiming race in his first start this year April 24. Willard, who caught him, also has been entered by trainer Craig MacPherson. The son of Skimming isn’t the most consistent horse around, though.