Vic's Sweety heads entry in feature

CALGARY, Alberta - The TNT Racing Stable entry of Digger's Pride and Vic's Sweety is imposing in Friday's featured eighth race at Stampede Park, a nonwinners-of-two allowance for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up.

Digger's Pride and Vic's Sweety just arrived in trainer Stu Simon's barn after shipping from their home base at Hastings in Vancouver, and they sport solid work tabs for their 2005 debuts.

Digger's Pride drew post 3 with Stephan Heiler, up while her entrymate drew the outside post in the field of seven with the red-hot Quincy Welch to ride.

Both 3-year-old fillies won going 3 1/2 furlongs at Hastings last year and were favored in those maiden victories.

Vic's Sweety is the more experienced of the two and made the lead in the fillies division of the Jack Diamond Futurity last October before fading to sixth.

Friday's four-furlong distance appears ideally suited for Vic's Sweety, who posted a bullet five-furlong work of 1:00.80 March 23 at Hastings.

* Just three days into the 47-day stand, jockey Quincy Welch has served notice that his defense of the 2004 crown has begun in earnest. Welch opened the campaign with a hat trick last Friday, won a pair Saturday afternoon, and returned Sunday to rack up five more victories. From 26 mounts, his record is 10-4-5, giving him a flying start in pursuit of the mark of 65 victories he posted last spring.