VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Numaany and Moscato will renew acquaintances in the second leg of the endurance series, which will serve as Friday’s feature race at Hastings. The 1 3/8-mile starter handicap for 3-year-olds and up drew eight horses and goes as race 7 on the eight-race card, which begins at 7:15 p.m. Pacific.
Numaany and Moscato battled it out the length of the stretch in the 1 1/8-mile first leg of the series, with Moscato, who set the pace, prevailing by a neck. Numaany was the odds-on favorite, and with the added distance on Friday he should have a good chance at making amends.
Trained by Dino Condilenios, Numaany dominated the endurance series last year, winning the final three legs at distances of 1 7/16 miles, 1 1/2 miles and 1 3/4 miles.
With his tactical speed, he should get a perfect stalking trip Friday with his usual rider Frank Fuentes aboard.
Moscato, trained by John Snow, appears to have taken a shine to the Hastings surface. Before his victory in the first leg of the series he had not won a race since Dec. 27, 2009. He ran a big race and showed a lot of courage to hold off Numaany. Since then, Moscato has posted a couple of very sharp five-furlongs works, especially a bullet move in 58.40 seconds Aug. 6. Moscato set honest fractions in his win, and it will be interesting to see if he can carry his speed another two furlongs.
Finally Kruisin can certainly handle the distance. Trained by Rob Gilker, Finally Kruisin is coming off of an easy 4 1/2-length win over Fish on Friday in the 1 3/8-mile B.C. Cup Marathon Aug. 1.
Fish on Friday is also in the field on Friday.
Kalookan Boss prepped for this with a fast -losing fifth-place finish in a $30,000 optional race going 1 1/8 miles Aug. 7.
◗ Due to Saturday’s opening of the annual fair held on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds, there will be no live racing this Saturday and Sunday. Next week, live racing will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with a 6:40 p.m. first post. Hastings will be open for simulcast wagering throughout the fair, which ends on Labor Day, Sept. 6.
