Stakes runner-up may regress

It will be interesting to see which direction Slews the Standard heads following his second-place finish behind Cool Ventura in the $50,000 Alberta Breeders' Handicap on Sept. 19. A repeat of his strong performance will probably be good enough to win the feature race at Northlands Park on Friday.

He will face stiff opposition from the probable favorite Rapid 'n Ready in the one-mile optional $30,000 claiming race, however.

There is also a good chance Slews the Standard will bounce. Trained by Tim Rycroft, Slews the Standard ran his eyeballs out in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' only to see Cool Ventura fly by him in the stretch. With Stephen Heiler aboard, Slews the Standard set fast fractions under pressure and was very game to hold on to finish a clear second over Rolletti, who is also entered here.

Trained by Jim Meyaard, Rapid 'n Ready will be stretching out to a middle-distance for the first time this year. He is coming off of sharp 2 1/4-length win over Alarico going six furlongs on Sept. 7. Although he has won 2 of his 6 starts going this distance, he is a much better sprinter and will have to deal with Slews the Standard right from the start.