Which version of Sherriff Brown will we see in Downs at Albuquerque Handicap?

Sheriff Brown is talented but temperamental and his connections are hoping he’ll be in the mood for racing Saturday night when he starts as the 121-pound highweight in the $200,000 Downs at Albuquerque Handicap.

The race, for 3-year-olds and up over 1 1/8 miles, is the meet’s most prestigious offering for Thoroughbreds. It’s counterpart for Quarter Horses, the $300,000 Fall Championship, will be run Sunday with the field of 10 including world champion Danjer.

A competitive field of 11 is set for the Albuquerque Handicap. Mine That Star, a half-brother to Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, adds depth to the lineup. Fleetridge, the second high weight at 120, was second in the Grade 3 Cornhusker in July at Prairie Meadows, and Offshore Affair is making his local debut after being based in California.

Sheriff Brown hails from one of the best families in New Mexico and is a half-brother to Runaway Ghost, a past winner of the Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby, and Senor Buscador, a stakes winner now training at Churchill for a possible start in either the Grade 2 Lukas Classic or Grade 3 Ack Ack, according to trainer Todd Fincher.

Fincher also trains Sheriff Brown, who is coming off a runner-up finish in the $55,000 Budweiser Special over seven furlongs Sept. 3 at Albuquerque. It was the horse’s first start since finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile in May at Lone Star. Prior to that race, Sheriff Brown won the $100,000 Sunland Park Handicap in April.

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“We never have high or low expectations,” said Fincher, who trains Sheriff Brown for Peacock Family Holdings. “He’s a horse that sometimes shows up and sometimes gives us the bird. And for no reason. I’ve had a few times I thought he couldn’t be doing any better and he didn’t run his race.

“His owners are great and understand that horse completely. There’s really nothing to say when he throws a clunker.”

Sheriff Brown is moving back to the two-turn configuration of his prior stakes wins off the Budweiser Special.

“He ran a very nice race,” Fincher said. “He stayed close to the pace going seven furlongs, which was different, out of the blue.”

Sheriff Brown tends to close from off the pace in his two-turn races, but Fincher said every running style is on the table heading into the Albuquerque Handicap. The horse will break from post 8, under Oscar Ceballos.

“We’ll just roll with his punches,” he said.

Fincher also trains Goddard, who is coming off a win in the $75,000 Labor Day Weekend on Sept. 5 at Ruidoso Downs.

“He’s had a great year, that horse,” Fincher said. “He’s gotten better with a little age.”

Goddard will break from the rail under Alfredo Juarez Jr. He is picking up ground off the 7 1/2 furlongs of the Labor Day.

“The mile and an eighth might be his limit,” said Fincher.

Goddard is weighted at 118.

Mine That Star, who is a multiple stakes winner at two turns, enters off a third-place finish in the Budweiser Special. He is weighted at 119.

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