Wine Stock seeks fifth straight win in Friday sprint feature
Following a successful summer at Hastings, Wine Stock returns to Northlands Park gunning for his fifth straight win Friday in a $35,000 optional-claiming race. The 6 1/2-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up drew a strong field of seven horses, including Clear the Runway, who is coming off a win in the $53,330 Sun Sprint Championship.
Post time for the first of seven races is 6:30 p.m. Mountain.
Trained by Greg Tracy, Wine Stock dominated the Champions Starter Series, winning all three of the $8,000 starter races plus the $50,000 final. The first two races in the series were at 6 1/2 furlongs, and Wine Stock shouldn’t have any trouble with the cutback in distance after winning back-to-back routes, including the 1 1/16-mile final Sept. 13.
He also should be fine returning to Northlands, where he earned his career-best Beyer Speed Figure (89) and has won 5 of 7 starts.
Wine Stock is versatile, and leading rider Rico Walcott will have more than one option after he breaks from post 2.
There should be an honest pace, which could play into the hands of Clear the Runway. That Tim Rycroft trainee trailed the field early when he won the Sun Sprint Championship.
KEY CONTENDERS
Wine Stock (Last 3 Beyers: 79-76-70)
◗ He is on a roll, and his Beyers have increased in his last three races, so he might not have reached his peak.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the past five years at Northlands, Tracy has a 28 percent strike rate with horses going from a route to a sprint.
Clear the Runway (Last 3 Beyers: 70-76-65)
◗ The two-time stakes winner has been idle since Aug. 15, but he runs well fresh and might have tipped his hand when he worked a bullet four furlongs in 46.80 seconds last Saturday.
◗ There is plenty of potential speed in the field, and he will be rolling late.
Swiss Idol (Last 3 Beyers: 84-55-78)
◗ He throws in the odd clunker, like he did in the Sun Sprint Championship, but he has won four of his last five starts and should get a nice trip from a forward position.
◗ Trained by Rick Wise, he is coming off an easy win in a similar race Sept. 5, and he came back with a solid move last Friday.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the past five years at Northlands, Wise has a 28 percent strike rate with horses who won their most recent.