Slewpast goes after third straight

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Slewpast goes for her third straight stakes win in the $40,000 Supernaturel at Hastings Sunday. She's facing five other 3-year-old fillies in the 6 1/2-furlong feature, and her main threat appears to be Southern California invader Virtuous Lady.

Slewpast closed out her 2-year-old campaign with a 3 1/2-length win in the Lassie Stakes, then dominated the Fair Lady Stakes in her 3-year-old debut. Sitting just off of a hotly contest pace, Slewpast took control midway around the second turn and drew off to win by 6 3/4 lengths. She has since had two excellent half-mile works and looks primed for another big effort.

There is plenty of speed in the field, and Slewpast figures to get a perfect stalking trip. Frank Fuentes rides.

Virtuous Lady has been holding her own while knocking heads with $40,000 starter horses in Southern California. She hit the board in 6 of her 7 starts since arriving there in early November, and can certainly be forgiven for finishing up the track when she was buried on the rail on a sloppy track on Feb. 21.

The knock against Virtuous Lady is that she hasn't won since her maiden score at Calder last August. She has very good speed but doesn't appear to need the lead, and with her solid record on the tougher circuit, she could go off as the favorite. She's trained by Mike Turner and will be ridden by Jake Barton.