Sunland Park: Cottagecupcake faces tougher rivals this time

Cottagecupcake, much the best in her first two career starts, faces tougher female sprinters in Tuesday’s $29,100 featured ninth race at Sunland Park.

The 4-year-old Cottagecupcake, who will break from the rail in the 5 1/2-furlong sprint, is eligible for the second-level optional $25,000 claimer under the allowance conditions as a nonwinner of three lifetime races. Her six rivals include 16-time winner Last Wager, Lunch Time Diva, who romped by seven lengths at these same conditions in her most recent start; and Hurricane Krystal, who has been part of the exacta in six of eight lifetime starts.

Cottagecupcake, trained by Dallas Barton, cruised to a 3 1/2-length victory in her career debut at Sunland on March 1, but then did not resurface until Dec. 27, when she improved her Beyer Speed Figure nearly 30 points to a 77 for a front-running 3 1/4-length score going six furlongs.

Barton shows an identical 4-for-6 record (67 percent) with last-out winners making their second start off a layoff and with last-out winners returning in 14 days or less.

Recency is the only issue with Lunch Time Diva, who has been idle since crushing second-level optional $25,000 claimers at Zia Pak in mid-September. Her trainer, Bart Hone, is 13 for 54 (24 percent) over the past two years with sprinters returning following a break of 61 to 180 days. Lunch Time Diva, one of three horses in the field entered for the optional $25,000 tag, beat similar company the last time she raced at Sunland in April.

Hurricane Krystal was ambitiously spotted in a stakes at Ruidoso Downs in her first start off a winning performance in which she was claimed for $20,000. The past two years, her trainer, Justin Evans, is 5 for 20 (25 percent) with horses making their second start off the claim while returning from a layoff.

The 7-year-old Last Wager remains competitive at an age when most mares have retired from racing. She collected three wins in 2013, including a victory at Sunland, but is winless in six starts following her most recent victory in early August at Albuquerque.

Lucky Venture, never worse than second in six starts, makes the second start of her current form cycle. That is a 35 percent winning angle (26 for 74) for trainer Wes Martin the past two years. She also runs for a claiming tag for the first time.