Tracy runs three good sprinters

CALGARY, Alberta - Greg Tracy, leading trainer at this meet last year, will saddle three of the 10 entrants in Saturday's $50,000 Stampede Park Sprint Championship.

Tracy's horses drew the inside three post positions, with Smudgeledo, a handy winner here in 1:10 April 16 over the six-furlong distance of the Sprint, drawing the rail. Tracy's other horses, the multiple stakes winner and 2003 Alberta champion 3-year-old Taiaslew and 4-year-old Dakota Duke, are coupled and break from posts 2 and 3.

It is a formidable trio - Smudgeledo has excellent early foot, Taiaslew is comfortable on or near the lead, and Dakota Duke comes from off the pace.

Taiaslew raced over the winter at Santa Anita, giving him a conditioning edge. He has two sharp drills since his arrival from Southern California, and is 3 for 3 on this course.

Another shipper in the field is Hastings invader Blowin in the Wind, who is no stranger to these parts, having come here last May to capture the one-mile Teeworth Plate. Chad Hoverson ships in to ride the 7-year-old Blowin in the Win, who has worked smartly all spring at Hastings.

Local hopefuls Golden Hunt, Cool Bender, and Hot Talk promise to keep the early fractions honest, while Fuhr Ore, who won the prep for this race, looks to duplicate that feat.