Silver Crown threat to wire 'em

Silver Crown is fresh and fast, drew the rail, and recently worked a near-bullet. She is a strong threat to wire the field Saturday night in the $40,000 Cy-Fair Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park.

The six-furlong race is for 3-year-old fillies, and it drew a full field of 12, including the coupled entry of Sago and Bluegrass Sara. The Cy-Fair program will be the final live card at Sam Houston until Jan. 7.

, owned by Russell Reineman Stable and trained by Frank Springer, has not raced since Oct. 15, when she finished 10th over a muddy track in the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland. Prior to that race, she was third in the $52,000 Smart Deb at Arlington Park, and she won allowance races at that track and at Keeneland.

In her final work for the Cy-Fair, Silver Crown went four furlongs in 47.80 seconds, the second-fastest drill at the distance at her Fair Grounds base on Dec. 13. She figures to be prominent from the start in the Cy-Fair, and brings with her some solid company lines, including a second to stakes winner Saltwater Runner in an overnight handicap in June. Silver Crown also has a strong pedigree, being a half-sister to Powerful Punch, a Grade 2 winner and $873,190 earner, and Powerful Goer, a stakes-placed winner of $395,283.

James Graham has the mount on Silver Crown.

The top threats appear to be Questionable Past, who caught Silver Crown late in the Smart Deb. Questionable Past, who has won half of her 10 career starts, will add blinkers for trainer Michael Stidham, and will be ridden by Carlos Marquez Jr.

Jaded Heat: Four straight?

Jaded Heat could go favored Saturday night, when he steps up in class and shoots for his fourth straight win in a two-other-than allowance at Sam Houston. The 6 1/2-furlong seventh race has a $15,500 purse.

Jaded Heat's streak started on Sept. 7, when he won a $7,500 conditioned claimer at Retama Park. He beat open $10,000 claimers at Lone Star Park on Oct. 7, then returned one start later to defeat statebreds in an $8,000 starter allowance at Sam Houston.

Jaded Heat has a useful stalk-and-pounce style, and owns the field's highest last-out Beyer Speed Figure, an 88. Bobby Walker Jr. has the mount for trainer Randy Mayfield.