Wasserman, Nationhood top handicap

AUBURN, Wash. - Wasserman and Nationhood will be co-highweighted at 120 pounds for the $50,000 Seattle Handicap at six furlongs Sunday. The race is expected to draw at least eight starters.

The Howard Belvoir-trained Wasserman won last season's Governor's Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs and ran third in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile. He prepped for Sunday's stakes with a sharp half-length victory over Bound to Be M V P in a 5 1/2-furlong allowance test here on opening night, April 18.

Nationhood, a 6-year-old from the barn of trainer Mike Chambers, won all three of his starts here last season, then shipped to Turf Paradise to win two stakes from five attempts. Nationhood arrived back at Emerald in time to work five furlongs in 59.40 seconds last Sunday.

Also expected to contest the Seattle Handicap are Bound to Be M V P, Garbu's Tab, Random Memo, and Wild Cycle, all at 117 pounds, plus Chickasaw Park and Jamaica Bound, both at 116 pounds.

Garbu's Tab, who was recently claimed at Sunland Park by trainer Charlie Essex for K J Star Stable, will make his first start at Emerald in the Seattle. The 5-year-old Garbu's Tab has won 9 of 32 career starts, including a stakes last year at Blue Ribbon Downs. He won twice at the recent Sunland meeting and ran second in the $50,000 Budweiser Handicap at five furlongs.