Longacres Mile

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

The $250,000 Longacres Mile (G3), the Northwest's richest race, will be held

for the 75th time on Sunday and a full field of 12 will face the starter at

Emerald Downs. ASSESSMENT (Jump Start) overcame post 12 to win last year's

event, and we'll tab him for a repeat from post 11.

The six-year-old gelding rallied into a fast pace to win by three parts of a

length in 2009, and his only victory since then, a neck score in the 6

1/2-furlong Governor's H. two starts back, was accomplished off blistering early

fractions. He earned a 103 BRIS Late Pace rating in the latter and Assessment

has trained forwardly in advance of this start for Howard Belvoir, recording a

six-furlong bullet work in 1:12 2/5 last Sunday. With plenty of speed signed on,

he appears set for another top showing over his favorite track (8-for-18 at

Emerald; 0-for-11 elsewhere).

GALLANT SON (Malabar Gold) invades from Southern California for Frank

Lucarelli, but the four-year-old colt has plenty of experience over the oval,

winning four-of-five starts at the Seattle track. He's been running well on the

turf down south, winning the Inglewood H. (G3) and finishing a close fourth in

the Shoemaker Mile (G1), and drilled a four-furlong bullet work at Emerald on

Wednesday in preparation for his dirt return. His recent BRIS numbers are

first-rate and the late runner will look to make a serious impact from off the

pace.

Local hero NOOSA BEACH (Harbor the Gold) will bring strong form into this

event, winning the nine-furlong Mt. Rainier H. by 4 1/2 lengths last out, and he

captured the one-mile Budweiser H. by 9 1/4 lengths over a sloppy oval three

back. The Doris Harwood trainee can sit just off the speed before pouncing, but

he's very quick and could come out dueling for the early advantage in a

speed-laden affair. We like a couple of closers better, but Noosa Beach remains

a serious win threat.

ALMOST TIME (Finality) ships in from Hastings Park for trainer Dino

Condilenios and looks intriguing for the gimmicks at long odds. The

four-year-old gelding has captured two of his last three starts, registering

solid BRIS Speed and Late Pace numbers in those wins, and he figures to be

running late in this spot under regular rider Francisco Fuentes. We'll use him

on some tickets. TEIDE (Mt. Livermore) will run uncoupled with stablemate Almost

Time, and the front runner offered a good account of himself in this event last

year when rallying from off the pace for third. We expect to see him adapt that

same running style again on Sunday and, given his very respectable current form,

he's another one to consider for a top-three placing.

GALLON (Victory Gallop) owns a commendable mark at the distance (5-2-1-1),

but he's lost ground in the stretch of his last three attempts. The stalker may

be able to time his move a little better in this spot with plenty of speed in

the field, but his lone win the last two seasons came over allowance/optional

claiming rivals. He still merits some consideration for the exotics. Canadian

Grade 3 victor WINNING MACHINE (Toccet) has kept good company over the last 12

months, but his last couple of efforts are disappointing. We like the inside

draw and won't be surprised to see the stalker grab a small share, but can't

recommend his chances based on recent form.

JERSEY TOWN (Speightstown) enters on the upswing for trainer Tim McCanna, but

the speedy four-year-old could get softened up on a fast pace. BURJ DUBAI

(Distorted Humor) will be rolling early from post 12, but we'll give the

inexperienced gelding a start at this level. SENOR ROJO (Out of Place) figures

to add to the pace from post 2, but we'll be surprised to see him sustain it

against these rivals. DAVOS (Langfuhr) appears to be facing too much of a class

hike. WASSERMAN (Cahill Road), hero of the 2008 Longacres Mile, doesn't look fast enough

right now to challenge.