Snuck By aims to shake free in sprint

Snuck By is the one to catch Monday night in the allowance feature at Sam Houston Race Park. The six-furlong race drew a field of seven horses, including stakes winners Nuttyboom and Probation Ready.

But all could be at the mercy of Snuck By, whose dominant speed should enable him to shake free of his rivals. He displayed his turn of foot in his last start, when he was third to multiple stakes winner Mystery Classic in the $50,000 Spirit of Texas at Sam Houston on Dec. 1. Snuck By ran the opening quarter of the six-furlong stakes in 21.80 seconds and continued to duel with Mystery Classic through a half-mile in 44.20 before finishing 1 1/2 lengths back in third.

"I thought he did everything he could do," trainer Bret Calhoun said of Snuck By. "I thought he ran very good. You just hate to be chasing that Mystery Classic around. I think he's one of the better sprinters in this part of the country. You take him out of the race, and it's a whole different race."

Snuck By has won 5 of his last 7 starts, with all of his recent wins coming on the front end. He went on a tear this year at Remington Park, where he won four races between August and November to rank as the co-winningest horse of the meet. For his most recent start, Snuck By earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91, which is the highest last-race number in the field Monday.

"He's been on a very good roll for quite some time now," Calhoun said.

Quincy Hamilton has the mount on Snuck By for Carl R. Moore Management.

Probation Ready will be making his first start since May, when he finished fourth in the $108,000 Matt Winn at Churchill Downs. Before that race, he used closing tactics to win a pair of stakes in Louisiana, taking the Black Gold at Fair Grounds in January and the Inaugural at Evangeline Downs in April. Jose Figueroa has the mount for trainer Steve Asmussen.

Nuttyboom was fourth in the Spirit of Texas. He has tactical speed and, along with Snuck By and Crosstown, has a field-best record of two wins at Sam Houston. Ralph Irwin trains Nuttyboom and has given the mount to Jorge Guzman.

* Following the 10-race card there will be a fireworks display at Sam Houston.