EDMONTON, AB—MAY 6, 2017—It was an exciting finish in the first race of the 2017 season at Northlands Park, as Mals First Down ($11.30) won the $20,000 Northlands Park Markel Bonus Challenge Stakes in a photo finish over Cruisinfourabruisin.

Mals First Down, ridden by Jose Rocha, won the 330-yard event for trainer William Leach and owners Charlies Weaselhead and Jim Plume. Bred in Oklahoma by Bill Robbins, he is sired by Shazoom and is out of the First Down Dash mare First a Princess.

Mals First Down is a 6-year-old gelding with eight wins in 27 starts and lifetime earnings of $52,272. He finished second in last year’s regional Bank of America Challenge Championship qualifier, the $35,110 Evergreen Park Championship Challenge. This was his first win since his victory in the $15,102 Old Timers Classics Stakes at Lethbridge in June of 2016.

Mals First Down turned the tables on second-place finisher Cruisinfourabruisin, who defeated Mals First Down in the Evergreen Park Challenge last summer. Cruisinfourabruisin and Alejandro Alamazan led the race from the inside until just before the wire.

The 5-year-old gelding is a homebred for Barry and Janice Sather; Janice Sather also trains. Cruisinfourabruisin is by First Timber, out of the Royal Evening Snow mare Tagulator.

Cruisinfourabruisin has won multiple stakes, including the Evergreen Park Challenge Championship in 2016 and the $75,966 Canada Quarter Horse Cup Futurity (G3) at Lethbridge in 2014. The accomplished Alberta-bred has 11 wins in 30 starts, with lifetime earnings totaling over $120,000. Saturday’s start was his first since competing in the $350,000 Bank of America Challenge Championship (G1) at Los Alamitos in November 2016.

Rounding out the top three in the Northlands Park Bonus Challenge was Experimental Rocket and jockey J. B. Botello. Trained by Allen Goodsell, Experimental Rocket is owned by Shylo Penrod and Brian Weatherill.

The 4-year-old gelding was bred in Alberta by Mark Cassel, sired by Tr Dasher and out of Platinum N Pearls, by Lock To Load.

Experimental Rocket made his 12th lifetime start in Saturday’s feature Quarter Horse race at Northlands Park. He has three wins and rarely finishes off the board, including a third-place finish in the $32,550 Alberta-Bred Derby at Lethbridge in June of 2016.

Completing the field were Canadian Timber, heavy favorite Toughie (who stumbled at the start), First Prize Saas and Fiftys Carbon Copy

Editor's Note: Times and margins for this race were not available.