SARATOGA SPRINGS — The last time trainer Linda Rice started as many as three horses in the same race, she completed the triple.

Canadian Ballet, Sweet Bama Breeze and Noble Fire ran 1-2-3 in the Fifth Avenue Division of the New York Stallion Series last fall at Aqueduct.

Today, Rice goes after the

superfecta.

Rice, 44, will saddle four horses in the $80,000 Mechanicville, a 51⁄2-furlong overnight turf sprint stakes for state-breds at Saratoga Race Course.

Carded as the sixth of 10 races, the Mechanicville shares billing with the eighth, the $80,000 Union Avenue for females at six furlongs.

All owned by different clients, fillies Karakorum Elektra, Canad­ian Ballet and Ahvee’s Destiny and

5-year-old Prime Timber horse Silver Timber will run as separate betting interests.

They comprise nearly half of the 10-horse field entered for grass. Two others, Ferocious Fires and Good Card, were entered for main track only.

Also in the field is Metro Meteor, who won a turf sprint and was second in two others for Rice in 2005, and is now trained by Charlton Baker.

“Obviously, we’ve been rained out on several occasions,” Rice said Sunday morning. “A race for Silver Timber twice, and Kar­akorum Elektra twice.

“They’re all New York-breds and eligible for the condition. If the sun is shining and we’re on the turf, we’re going to go with all of them.”

Silver Timber (5-1) and Ahvee’s Destiny (6-1) are the second and third choices behind 2-1 program favorite Redefined in what is a wide-open race.

Silver Timber in 2006 and

Ahvee’s Destiny last summer both won twice at the distance on the grass at Saratoga. Silver Timber was third by a half-length in the 2007 Troy Stakes, but was disqual­ified and placed fifth.

“Silver Timber, I think, has always liked this course,” Rice said. “He hasn’t been quite at the peak of his form, but I think some of it has to do with the yielding courses he’s been on. He’s a big, heavy-muscled horse, and I think he likes a firm footing.

“Ahvee’s Destiny, of course, ran real well here last year, and she’s really at the top of her game right now. I’m running her back on short rest off a win at Monmouth, but I think it’s just an opportunity that we’re not going to get every day.”

Rice, who went out on her own in 1987 at the age of 23 and has been a New York mainstay since 1991, finished in a four-way tie for second in last year’s trainer standings at Saratoga, with 13 wins from 55 starters. Ten of those wins came on grass.

This year, the rainy weather that dominated the meet’s first 31⁄2 weeks affected Rice, who is 5-4-2 from 30 starters entering today.

“I’m a pretty heavy turf stable, so it’s been very frustrating for me,” Rice said. “Even when we’ve been on the turf, it’s been a yielding course, which really isn’t suited to a lot of my horses.

“We’ve managed to figure out how to get a few of them across. Our 2-year-olds have been running pretty well. There’s nothing you can do. Last year, we just had a tremendous meet with the weather, but I can’t change the weather.”

Jockeys Ramon Dominguez,

Javier Castellano, Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux and John Velazquez will ride for Rice, who plans to saddle all four horses herself.

“Probably. I like doing it,” she said. “I might have my assistant saddle two, and I’ll saddle two, but I don’t like anybody to ever feel slighted. I might just wheel them in like a car wash, and get them all done.”

Rice has already began formulating which of the quartet will go first.

“Ahvee’s Destiny,” she said. “I’m going to get her settled and get her under way; her and Canadian. Those two fillies are a little high strung, so I’ll probably take care of them first. The other two are pretty easy.”