(July 3, 2009) - Two of Lone Star Park’s top owner-trainer combinations will face off in Saturday’s $75,000 Assault Stakes for Texas-breds, 3-years-old and up at Lone Star Park. Clarence Scharbauer’s Gold Coyote, trained by Bret Calhoun, and Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s Ablaze With Spirit, trained by Steve Asmussen, are the top two picks in Rick Lee’s morning line.

The 7-5 morning line favorite, Gold Coyote, winner of the $50,000 Express Stakes on May 16 and the $50,000 Carter McGregor Jr. Memorial on June 13 in his last two starts, will look to make it three stakes wins in a row at Lone Star Park. Ridden by Bobby Walker Jr., the 4-year-old gelding will be looking to improve on his lifetime record of 10 wins from 17 starts and career earnings of $393,250.

Ablaze With Spirit, who will have Lone Star Park’s all-time stakes leading jockey Eddie Martin, Jr. in the saddle, just missed by a nose after a very wide trip in Lone Star Park’s Opening Night Premiere Stakes on April 9. He followed up that effort with a state-bred allowance win on May 23 and a close-up fourth in a June 21 optional claimer, finishing only a length-and-a quarter behind the winner. The 4-year-old bay colt, who is 5-2 in the morning line, has three wins, five seconds and four thirds in 19 career tries and earnings of $281,762.

The field from the rail out, with jockey and morning line odds listed in parenthesis, consists of: Gold Coyote (Bobby Walker Jr., 7-5); Dreamsandvisions (Carlos Gonzalez, 8-1); Goosey Moose (Cliff Berry, 4-1); Burbon Road (Larry Taylor, 15-1); Elegante’ (Justin Shepherd, 20-1); Windy Lou (Benito Morales, 10-1); Ablaze With Spirit (Eddie Martin, Jr., 5-2), and Catrin (Eguard Tejera, 20-1). Elegante’ is also entered in the $50,000 Valor Farm Stakes.

Scheduled as Race 9 on the 10-race program, the Assault Stakes has an approximate post time of 5:19 p.m.

Wrenice Looks to Surpass $500,000 in Career Earnings as 2-1 Morning Line Favorite in the $50,000 Valor Farm Stakes

Stewart Hamblen’s Wrenice, trained by Randy Mayfield, will look to break the half-million dollar plateau in career earnings with a win in Saturday’s $50,000 Valor Farm Stakes at Lone Star Park. Wrenice, who has been made the 2-1 morning line favorite by track oddsmaker Rick Lee, will be ridden by Curt Bourque in the one-mile contest for Texas-bred fillies and mares, three years old and up.

A two-length allowance winner over turf in her last, Wrenice has 12 wins from 23 starts with 10 of those victories coming on dirt. The 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Abbey has accumulated $488,674 in lifetime earnings and would surpass the $500,000 mark with the $30,000 winner’s share on Saturday. She will be looking to improve on her previous two tries on Lone Star Park’s dirt oval this year where she finished a distant eighth in the $100,000 Valid Expectations Stakes on Lone Star Million Day, May 25, and a troubled third in the $50,000 JEH Stallion Station Stakes on April 18 when she had a wide trip and was bumped in the stretch.

Wrenice’s toughest competition should come from Tom Durant’s No Other Tone and Ray Whitley & Sharon Barker’s Moneyinmywranglers. No Other Tone, trained by Jack Bruner, is 5-2 in the morning line and will be looking for her second straight victory coming off of an optional claiming win here on June 18. With Lone Star Park’s second-leading jockey Chris Landeros in the irons, the 4-year-old daughter of Touch Tone will be looking for her fifth win in her eighth career start and to add to her $61,198 in earnings.

Sharon Barker trainee Moneyinmywranglers, who is 10 for 24 lifetime with $194,508 in career earnings is the third choice in the morning line at 9-2.

The field from the rail out, with jockey and morning line odds listed in parenthesis, consists of: Fourstarattraction (Bryan McNeil, 10-1); Classie Baloo (Glen Murphy, 30-1); Comanche Vision (Nena Matz, 20-1); Dixie Dust (Jose Figueroa, 15-1); Elegante’ (Justin Shepherd, 8-1); Wrenice (Curt Bourque, 2-1); Taptam (Cliff Berry, 8-1); Light Lace (Justin Shepherd, 8-1), No Other Tone (Chris Landeros, 5-2), and Moneyinmywranglers (Luis Quinonez, 9-2). Elegante’ and Light Lace are coupled. Elegante’ is also entered in the $75,000 Assault Stakes.

The Valor Farm Stakes is the seventh race on the 10-race card scheduled for 4:23 p.m.