Sunland Park: Reaper the class of Pepsi Cola

Reaper will return to his best trip – sprinting – for the $85,000 Pepsi Cola at Sunland Park on Saturday. The six-furlong race for 3-year-olds bred in New Mexico drew a full field 12.

Reaper should go favored because he is unbeaten at one turn and has won stakes at Ruidoso Downs and Zia.

For the Saturday start, Reaper will be cutting back from a pair of one-mile races. He set the pace in both the $138,000 Eddy County in his two-turn debut at Zia on Nov. 27 and also in the $85,000 Red Hedeman Mile in his last start Dec. 28. Reaper was third in both races, but prior to those starts had won all three of his races, all at sprint distances.

Reaper launched his career last June in a five-furlong trial race for a division of the $167,000 Mountain Top Futurity at Ruidoso. He went on to win the finale at the same distance, and after a freshening returned to action in October and captured the $152,000 New Mexico Cup Juvenile at six furlongs Oct. 27.

R.D. Hubbard bred and owns Reaper, a son of the Forest Wildcat stallion Attila’s Storm. Reaper is trained by Todd Fincher, who has given the mount to Irwin Rosendo.

The chief threat could be D E Lover, who like Reaper exits the Red Hedeman. He rallied for second, one start after dominating an allowance sprint at Zia on Nov. 13. Miguel Perez has the mount for co-owner and trainer Tony Sedillo.

Stakes winner Dandy Don Who also is set to start.