“It’s a field of tough horses for sure and it will come down to who gets the right trip and whose horses are ready. You never know until the gate springs.”
Sunday’s competitive $57,800 Alberta Plainsman field will feature the top three sophomore pacing colts from a trio of last weekend's eliminations at Alberta Downs. Cowboy Caper, the fastest finisher and 5-2 second choice in the morning line, will be looking for the winning trip from post three for trainer-driver Kelly Hoerdt.
“Everything really went his way [in his elimination],” Hoerdt told Trot Insider. "He had a good trip, but at the same time he did go in [a career-best] 1:54.3 and at this time of the season with three-year-olds just getting started up in Alberta that’s good so I was very happy with him. He was well within himself.”
The field of nine contains two Keith Clark trainees, including 2-1 morning line favourite Playbook, who will be starting from the rail, and trailing post nine starter Somethinsgoinon. Both colts are also elimination winners and could offer up some serious competition for ‘Caper.’
"There’s lots of tough horses in there and it will really come down to the trip,” said Hoerdt assessing the field. “Keith Clark has a couple in there and he drew the inside positions. Anytime somebody’s got multiple horses in the field it’s always a little tougher. Lance Ward’s horse Outlaw Beacon, I beat him last week, but basically Outlaw Beacon did all the work and I had the good trip so he’d be another one to watch for [from post six]. Smooth Criminal is another one that raced well last week. He’s got the outside [seven-hole] and things might set up good for him.”
But Cowboy Caper's off the pace racing style could work to his advantage with the Clark crew leaving to his inside and the one-mile Lacombe track known for its long home stretch.
"It’s a good [style] for the track we’re racing at now," noted Hoerdt. "He has had a limited number of starts and I always say it’s easy to teach a horse to race on the front later on when you have to, but getting them to settle down and race from off the pace is more important when they haven’t had a whole lot of starts yet. Right now that’s the way he likes it for sure."
The Beaumont horseman says Cowboy Caper is “fit and tight and ready to go” having prepped for his first Alberta Sires Stakes final of the season with a light training routine this past week.
The well-behaved Brandons Cowboy-Prom Miss gelding has won his last three of six sophomore races, including a division of the Adios Pick. He got off to a later start as a freshman, but earned victories in a division of the Alberta Shooting Star and Alberta Super Final Consolation.
“He did get a late start because he was very growthy so we couldn’t rush him along,” explained Hoerdt, who purchased the half-brother to multiple stakes winner Prom Mister for $14,000 at the ASHA Yearling Sale with partners Blair Corbeil of Beaumont and Calgary’s Peter Morris and Roque Consultants Inc.
Cowboy Caper has earned $41,708 in 15 career starts and will look to increase his bankroll this summer as the Alberta Sires Stakes season progresses.
“He’s got open stakes as well, but for now the sires stakes is what we concentrate on," said Hoerdt. "It’s a big portion of our purses. It’s all about the Alberta Sires Stakes.”
Sunday also marks Fan Appreciation Day at Alberta Downs, with $2,000 in betting vouchers being given away and a $3 hamburger & pop special. First race post time on Sunday is 1:45 p.m. with the Alberta Plainsman Final scheduled as race 10. This afternoon's Alberta Downs card features the fillies in action in the ninth race $56,600 Alberta Princess Final.
To view Sunday's harness racing entries, click on the following link: Sunday Entries - Alberta Downs.
(Photo courtesy thehorses.com)