Stryker Phd ready to take on all comers in Mile

AUBURN, Wash. – While Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile attracted a full field of 12, including a handful of Californians with flashy credentials, the forecast isn’t terribly complicated. Stryker Phd, the defending champion and winner of six consecutive stakes races at Emerald Downs, is likely to be a short-priced favorite – and perhaps an irresistible one – in the 80th running of the Mile.

Stryker Phd is a deep closer on a racing surface that tends to favor speed, yet for the past two years he’s been untroubled by any prevailing track bias. Noosito gave him a scare in the one-mile Budweiser Handicap in Stryker Phd’s first start of the year, but otherwise he’s had his way with a dwindling cast of local challengers. A new wave of adversaries, including four from California and four from British Columbia, will test the Larry Ross-trained Stryker Phd in the Longacres Mile.

Stryker Phd comes into the race off a powerhouse six-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile Mt. Rainier Handicap on July 19, when an overheated pace – six furlongs in 1:09.06 – helped flatter his late kick. He could get a similar setup in the Mile. Modern, a two-time stakes winner this year at Hastings, is likely to make a beeline for the front from post 12, and Fleet Eagle, who recorded a Beyer Speed Figure of 100 in his only previous Emerald Downs start, figures to go with him.

Herbie D led gate to wire to capture the 2013 Longacres Mile, but closers have won the race six times in the past eight years. Alert Bay, a graded stakes winner in California and Canada, has the right running style to prevail if everything breaks his way. Ditto Sammy Mandeville, who earned a 101 Beyer for his fast-closing third in the Grade 3 Precisionist Stakes at Santa Anita in May.

Another closer, Absolutely Cool, profiles as a live longshot. He finished third behind Stryker Phd in the Budweiser and then was second in the Mt. Rainier. After working five furlongs in a best-of-the-morning 57.60 seconds last Saturday, he’s coming into the Longacres Mile at the peak of his powers. He can fly late. But to this point, Stryker Phd has flown faster.

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KEY CONTENDERS

Stryker Phd (Last 3 Beyers: 95-98-87)

◗ He’s been remarkably consistent at Emerald Downs, recording Beyers of 96, 97, 96, 97, 91, 97, 97, and 95 in his past eight starts.

◗ Despite his glossy record, Stryker Phd got in light at 123 pounds. He carried 121 pounds to a half-length victory over Boyett in the 2014 Longacres Mile.

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Alert Bay (Last 3 Beyers: 85-86-94)

◗ After a taxing campaign in 2014, when Alert Bay won 7 of 10 starts and earned $596,407, trainer Blaine Wright gave him a six-month break. He returned with a huge effort in a five-furlong dash on the turf at Golden Gate Fields but was fourth in the restricted Bertrando Stakes at Los Alamitos in his most recent start.

◗ Rico Walcott, the leading rider at Northlands Park, is undefeated in three starts aboard Alert Bay, including a three-length victory in the Zia Park Derby in November. He rides on Sunday.

Sammy Mandeville (Last 3 Beyers: 92-96-101)

◗ He returned from a two-month break to finish a non-threatening fourth in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar in his last start and should be sitting on an improved effort in his second start following a layoff. He’ll be handled by Alex Solis, who was up for Sammy Mandeville’s big try in the Precisionist.

Modern (Last 3 Beyers: 85-89-83)

◗ He’s the fastest horse at Hastings, having taken both the George Royal and Winston Churchill stakes in front-running fashion. But Modern was unlucky to draw the No. 12 hole – only two horses in 80 years have won the Mile from there.

Majestic City (Last 3 Beyers: 88-88-97)

◗ His best recent race came on a sloppy track in Texas, where he captured the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap in May. After getting outrun in the San Diego Handicap in his last start, the Richard Baltas trainee will need an improved effort to threaten Stryker Phd.