6/19/2023

It was a huge weekend at Emerald Downs, Father’s Day, the first two Stakes races of the season and the Muckleshoot Gold Cup Indian Relays over the 3-days of racing drawing huge crowds to all 3 days. For coverage of the Indian Relays look for that to be released on Tuesday, June 20 with replays of all the races, interviews and results.

Plus, Luis Negron’s run of wins on consecutive days was snapped, Alex Cruz’s win streak on Friday nights continued, Neptali Ortiz not only got his first win at Emerald Downs he got his 1st win in the United States, Silvio Amador tripled, Kevin Radke and Carlos Montalvo took home the Stakes victories and so much more! Let’s get to the race re-caps followed by Larry’s Round-up of odds and ends and a deep look at the jockeys, trainers and owners weekends.

Sunday Racing

The Auburn Stakes (5th Race)
In the 1st Stakes race of the season the $50,000 Auburn Stakes had a scratch of Jon Tong which left 6 to break from the gates of the 6-furlong dash under thye watchful eye of starter Mark Gibson. Odds-on choice Clovisconnection with Kevin Radke in the irons shipped in from California for trainer Blaine Wright who is 3rd in all-time stakes wins at Emerald Downs with 52. 3 behind Frank Lucarelli and 15 behind the all-time leader Doris Harwood with 67.

The doubters of Clovisconnection pointed to the 3-year-old gelding’s lack of experience on dirt running only once in 6 career starts and getting beat handily. He was coming off a stunning effort in the Silky Sullivan Stakes running 2nd a 1/2 length behind at Golden Gate but on the turf. The handicappers looked for others to beat the overwhelming favorite but it was not to be as Radke pressed go from the start crediting trainer Blaine Wright telling him not to let him get covered up breaking from the 1 hole. Radke took a half length lead to the 1/2 mile pole in a smoking time of 43.59 and simple began to draw off to win by more than 4 lengths in a new Stakes record time of 1:07.59 breaking the record of 1:07.98 by Baja Sur in the 2019 Auburn.

2nd choice Lloyds Logic with Jose Zunino ran a solid race for trainer Tom Wenzel and tried to keep up with Clovisconnection but simply got beat by a better performance. Lloyd was clearly 2nd best finishing in front of 3rd place Company’s Dream with Ezequiel Lara by nearly 6 lengths and Company’s Dream got up by a neck over 4th place Royal Halo with Isaias Enriquez.

Clovisconnection races for William Hedrick who also bred Clovis with his wife Judy in California. Clovisconnection collected $27,500 and improves his bank account to $133,880 and improves his lifetime record to 4-1-0 from 7 starts. Clovisconnection will likely be aimed at the July 16 Irish Day Stakes that will go 6 1/2-furlongs.

The Auburn Stakes

The Auburn Stakes Winners Circle Ceremonies with Joe Withee

ESN talks with Winning Trainer Blaine Wright

The Seattle Stakes (8th Race)

But it was shortly after this that Aloha Breeze kicked it in and drew away to a 2 1/2 length lead at the top of the stretch and at the finish line almost a 5 length victory and in another Stakes record winning time of 1:08.72, topping Alliford Bay’s former top time of 1:08.92 in 2017.

Miss Dynamic was getting tired but Valdes and her connections could not have asked anymore from her with a brilliant run of her own to take 2nd by 3/4 of a length over a closing Jamies Inheritance with Jose Zunino and they were 1 1/2 in front of Me Gusta Luna with Silvio Amador. Valdes told ESN that he was really happy with Miss D’s performance saying she gave everything she had and never gave up. Valdes said the winner is just a beast.

Aloha Breeze races for NW legendary owner George Todaro who keeps finding his way into the winners circle year after year. The win is Todaro’s 11th stakes win tying him for 5th all-time. Trainer Tom Wenzel earned his 50th Stakes win of his career at Emerald Downs and moves him into a tie for 4th with Hall-of-Famer Jim Penney.

Aloha Breeze improves her lifetime record to 4-2-0 from 6 starts and collected $27,500 to push her career earnings over the 100k mark to $109, 210. The next Stakes race for Aloha Breeze will be the Kent Stakes on July 16 going 6 1/2-furlongs.

Seattle Stakes Winners Circle Ceremonies with Joe Withee

1st Race

Kicking off a very busy Sunday was a field of 6 going 6 furlongs and Gold Rush Candy with Silvio Amador went to the lead setting some quick fractions of 21.74 and 43.86 but those quick fractions set up Minoso with Luis Negron. Negron had a 14-day win streak going into Saturday and had it snapped and he wasted little time in beginning his next streak as Minoso loomed up on the outside and surged past Gold Rush Candy for a 1/2 length victory over the early leader. Mileys Bluecat with Alex Cruz ran 3rd and Party for One with Alexis Valdes took 4th. The winning time was 1:09.19 and Minoso races for the leading owner and trainer, Justin Evans. Minoso paid $11.20 on the $2 win.

2nd Race

Youonlylivetwice was bet down to 3-5 favoritism with the late money rolling in and the late money was right although Youonlylivetwice and Alex Cruz made her supporters a bit uncomfortable. Silvio Amador for the 2nd straight race went to the lead and in this 5 1/2-furlong dash just failed to last losing by a neck in the final strides. Those two were well in front of Tyche Awaits You with Luis Negron while Bandon Bridge with Alex Anaya finished 4th. Youonlylivetwice ran the 5 1/2 in 1:03.26 and races for Hillary Durham and Rosales Racing F1 and is trained by Jorge Rosales.

3rd Race
Jockey Neptali Ortiz is opening the eyes of many with his 2nd win in as many days and he did it again with a huge pay-off at 16-1. Ortiz and Our Empire sat well off the pace only in front of fellow longshot at 13-1 Spire with Kevin Radke. The betting favorite Eye Candy Randy along with Frank’s Fix It and Quiet Charm all went to the lead setting s torrid pace of 21.48 and 44.28. Quiet Charm with Alexis Valdes was the most resilient of the trio and looked like he may go on and win. But Our Empire was closing and trying to squeeze between Quiet Charm and Frank’s Fix It but got cut off and had to dive to the rail but had plenty left to get up for the win. Meantime, 13-1 Spire came flying from last and ran out of room to grab 2nd while Quiet Charm finished 3rd and Frank’s Fix It with Isaias Enriquez held 4th. Our Empire is owned by Jim Nunnally and trained by Alan Bozell. It was also Bozell’s 2nd win of the season. Our Empire paid $47.40 on the $2 across bet while Spire returned $13.40 and $6.40 and Quiet Charm paid $8 on the $2 show.

ESN talks with Neptali Ortiz on getting his 1st two wins

4th Race

A field 8 went 4 1/2-furlongs in the 2nd 2-year-old race of the year and the public got it right as all 8 were making their career debut but Bourbon Dancer with Silvio Amador came through with a very professional performance. Dancer was sitting 5th in traffic early on and as the early speed began to tire weaved his way through traffic then surged through an opening for a 3/4-length debut win. 5-1 K R Rules with Carlos Montalvo closed well to grab 2nd by a head over 12-1 Freightline with Alex Cruz who was part of the early pace but held and 9-1 Jokers Four with Luis Negron closed from far back for 4th. Bourbon Dancer is owned by Dan Warden and trained by Blaine Wright and stopped the clock in a time of 51.49. Bourbon Dancer capped off a $729.40 pick-4 and paid a healthy $83.78 on the 10-cent superfecta.

6th Race

Silvio Amador had been on a couple of frontrunners today that got caught so when he got on Big Mama Thornton the 9-5 favorite in the 6th he knew he would be on the lead but wanted to slow it down. Every quarter mile on the day had been a sub 22-seconds. Amador took the lead and the quarter was 22:07. The filly was then pressured to the halfmile and quickened her pace to 44.27 but unfortunately for the rest of the field saving her at the beginning Amador had more than enough and opened up by 5 at one point and won by more than 3 lengths in a time of 1:08.95. Patricia L and Kevin Orozco the 2-1 2nd choice was hoping for a faster pace and ended up closing for a clear 2nd. 12-1 Foggy Bottom and Luis Negron ran 3rd and finishing off the superfecta in 4th was Belle My Belle and Kevin Radke. Big Mama Thornton was the 2nd winner of the year for the Bean’s, Luanne Bean the owner and trainer Robert Bean.

7th Race

4 horses hit the finish line within a 1/2 length of each other with just a nose separating 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd. Brony Boy and Alexis Valdes got the head to bob perfectly on the wire to nose out 7-5 favorite Wear the Crown and Kevin Radke nosed out 25-1 Pick Your Bid and Neptali Ortiz. 2-1 Famous Rock Star with Alex Cruz just a half length behind the top 3. Brony Boy ran the 6-furlongs in 1:10.20 and races for James Carter and Jill Soranno. The 2nd Pick 4 of the day paid just $72.00.

9th Race

A late scratch of Ms Flashy Harbor dropped the field to 5 going 6-furlongs. The odds were well spread out and Above the Stars with Alex Anaya went to the lead and set a decent fraction of 22.05 for the half and looked like she may not be caught. Crazy About You and Carlos Montalvo put pressure on Stars but Stars seemingly was able to fend her off. Gold Coast Girl and Silvio Amador searching for his 1st 3 win day at Emerald Downs began to stir about the 1/4 pole and swung wide for the stretch run. The engaged the top 2 runners and Above the Stars would falter to finish 3rd while Crazy About You dug in but was not able to withstand Gold Coast Girl who roared down the outside for the clear win. Gold Coast Girl is owned by Ron and Nina Hagen and trained by Steve Bullock. The Hagen’s also bred Gold Coast Girl who is by Coast Guard out of Ms Moscow Mattie by Matty G and is a 4-year-old filly.

10th Race

8 lined up for the weekend’s get-away race set to go 6-furlongs and jockey Silvio Amador was shooting to make it a 4 win day. He was aboard 7-2 Low Dose and went straight to the lead quickly drawing away by 3 lengths. Meantime, Alexis Valdes was looking for a double win day and sat off the pace with fellow 7-2 shot Square Footage. Low Dose was laying down some high dose fractions going 21.38 and 43.93 and turning for home still had a length lead over Square Footage. But Valdes had Square in high gear and was rolling and engaged Low Dose mid stretch and gradually pulled away for a 3/4 length win in a time of 1:09.32. The duo was clear of 3rd place Rolinga with Isaias Enriquez who was clear over 4th place finisher Boundforjamaica and Kevin Radke and as the parade continued was well in front of 5th place Mean Sharon and Kevin Orozco to complete the Super Hi-5. Square Footage is owned by The Munger Girls for trainer Niccolo Troiani which was his 1st win of the season. The 50-cent Super Hi-5 paid a sweet $1,428.55.

Saturday Racing

Feature Race 7th Race “Cutwater Spirits Purse”

A field of 6 went 5 1/2-furlongs in the Saturday feature race and Silvio Amador knew what he wanted to do with Miss Bella right out of the gate and that was to take the lead. Amador and Bella were also pleased that no one would push the 4-year-old Washington bred filly as she ran as she pleased setting fractions of 21.43 and 44-flat. Turning for home Amador shook the reins and she responded handily with an easy nearly 3-length win in a time of 1:02.36.

The race was for the minors from the start and betting choice Our Lyla Grace with Jose Zunino tried to close from the back but did not have nearly a long enough stretch to do so and outfinished Frisco Frills and Chic Samuri by a 1/2 length. Frisco Frills and Kevin Radke did well to nip Chic Samuri and Luis Negron by a nose for 3rd.

Miss Bella is owned by John and Janene Maryanski and trained by Blaine Wright. Mr and Mrs William Griffin are the breeders of Miss Bella by Harbor the Gold out of Bella Campana by Slewdledo. Miss Bella improved her career record to 3-3-3 from 13 career starts and earned $14,500. Her career earnings are now $64,988.

1st Race
9-5 betting choice A Little Grace with Alex Cruz just held on for the front running win to kick-off Saturday racing. Cruz and Grace covered the 5 1/2-furlongs in 1:03.94. A Little Grace held off 7-2 California Halo and Javier Matias for the win while 2-1 Bikini Nation and Kevin Radke ran 3rd and completing the top 4 was Vandulie with Alexis Valdes. A Little Grace races for Carol Dronen and is trained by Sam Dronen. It was the 1st win of the year for the Dronen’s.

2nd Race

In the 1st 2-year-old race of the season a field of 7 fillies went 4 1/2-furlongs and 3-1 Bourbon Tiger ran like a seasoned pro. Jockey Alexis Valdes took Tiger right to the lead but 2nd choice at 5-2-1, Mocktails Anyone with Carlos Montalvo actually took the lead at the top of the stretch. Many times that would be all for a young horse in her 1st race but Bourbon Tiger dug down and came back to re-take the lead and win by 3/4-length. Shelby Shortstop with Luis Negron ran on for 3rd and Drewy with Silvio Amador was 4th. Bourbon Tiger stopped the clock in 51.17 and is owned by Dan Warden and Double R Stable and trained by Blaine Wright. The 3-1 to 5-2 to 6-1 to 2-1 $1 superfecta paid a solid $206.60.

3rd Race
6 starters would go 6-furlongs in the 3rd and Kevin Orozco would sit chilly in 3rd place with Moscow Lady early on while 1-1 favorite Awesome Daze with Jose Zunino and Calypso Princess with Alex Cruz carved out the opening fractions of 21.59 and 44.35 which setup Orozco and Moscow Lady sweeping up on the outside turning for home drawing away by 2 lengths for the win. Awesome Daze would be 2nd by a neck over Calypso Princess and G G Rules with Kevin Radke took 4th. Moscow Lady races for Gold Coast Racing II and is trained by Steve Bullock. Moscow Lady is a Washington bred by Abraaj out of Moscow Symphony by Moscow Ballet and was bred by Ron and Nina Hagen. The 5-2 2nd favorite paid $7.20 on the $2 win.

4th Race

Heavily favored Tax Code got a nifty and patient ride from veteran Kevin Radke as Radke let the front runners control the pace until turning for home and Radke with Tax Code were never out of touch and when the rail opened up they burst through to win by a length pulling away. Missed the Boat and Alex Cruz ran a brilliant race being challenged on the lead by Cobra Jet, disposing of that threat but unable to deny Tax Code. Missed the Boat held 2nd by a neck over Arma d’Oro with Luis Negron and Cobra Jet finished 4th. Tax Code ran the 6-furlongs is a swift 1:07.68 and is owned by Mischief Racing and trained by Shelly Crowe. Crowe had her 4 straight win streak snapped on Friday night but perhaps has begun a new streak with Tax Code.

5th Race
7 ran a mile in the 5th race on Saturday and front running American Grit with Alexis Valdes had control to the top of the stretch when it appeared the 1-1 favorite Socal Red would overtake the 3-1 2nd choice. Socal Red may have indeed won but ducked out inside the 1/8th pole almost unseating rider Alex Cruz. This allowed American Grit to hold onto the lead and had enough for a 3/4 length over a fast closing Warriors Hero with Rigo Sarmiento at 11-1, 3-1 Altitude and Luis Negron took 3rd while 17-1 C Jaxon with Louis Zacherle got 4th. Cruz got Social Red straightened out and just missed hitting the board taking 5th. American Grit ran the mile in 1:36.53 and is owned by Stable H. M. A. and trained by Justin Evans. The 1-cent superfecta returned $179.09 and the $1 super $1,790.90.

ESN talks with Alex Cruz on his adventurous ride on Socal Red

6th Race
The 6-furlong sprint in the 6th was closely contested as less than 2 lengths separated the top 5 finishers. In the end, Kevin Orozco got his 2nd win of the day and his 1st double win day of the meet bringing Mischieviousholiday from off the pace in 5th early to run down the field and get up to win by a neck over 7-2 Contejas with Silvio Amador. Amador and Contejas may have thought they fought off everyone as they took the lead late only to get nipped at the wire. 7-1 Perfect One with Alexis Valdes ran on well to be 3rd by a neck over Mister Mafiioso with Alex Cruz at 5-1. Mischieviousholiday races for Alvarez Racing Stables and is trained by Sergio Alvarez.

8th Race
A big field of 10 would wrap up Saturday’s card as they lined up to go a mile and #10 Anna’s Iron Man with Luis Negron would go off as the favorite and Negron was trying to protect his win streak of at least 1 win on each race day so far or a total of 14 straight days. It looked like Negron would keep that streak going as he had a length lead at the top of the stretch but Baby Frankie was gonna have something to say with Neptali Ortiz coming in 5 wide into the stretch and closed with a rush to pass Anna’s Iron Man for Ortiz’s 1st win of the season while denying Negron’s streak. Playoff Bound and Kevin Radke finished 3rd, Bel Ragazzo and Isaias Enriquez were 4th and Dyf with Kevin Orozco capped the 50-cent Super Hi-5. Baby Frankie is owned and trained by Luciano Medina and ran the mile in 1:35.52. The 50-cent pick 5 paid big again at $2,294 as did the 20-cent Jackpot Pick 6 returning $2,993.64.

Friday Night Racing

Feature Race 6th Race “Muckleshoot Casino Purse”

In the Friday night feature a field of 5 went a mile and 4-5 odds-on choice Shesaheatwave with Luis Negron didn’t go straight to the lead b ut by the time they headed up the backstretch the 8-year-old mare set all the fractions and pulled away for a 1 1/2-length win. 2-1 2nd choice Hollywood Mistress with Kevin Radke was a clear 2nd but could not reel in the winner in the end. Shesaheatwave ran the 1-mile in 1:36.33 with the 1/2 mile time in 47.22 and the 6-furlongs in 1:10.97 which left plenty of fuel for the stretch run.

Heart River at 6-1 with Alex Cruz was a lonely 3rd 3 lengths behind Hollywood and 7 lengths in front of 4th place finisher Lafonda with Javier Matias. Despite being the odds-on winner Shesaheatwave to cap off the 50-cent Pick 3 with a nice $139.40 return thanks to the 15-1 winner in the 5th race.

Shesaheatwave races for Jose Silva Jr and is trained by the red hot Justin Evans. Shesaheatwave is now 12-6-6 and this was her 50th lifetime start. She earned $7,540 for the win to push her career earnings to just over $120,000.

ESN talks with Luis Negron winning rider on Shesaheatwave

1st Race
A late scratch and of the betting favorite Janero Rose dropped the opening field to 4 going 6-furlongs. Mo Connelly with Silvio Amador was 5-1 before the late scratch and then bet down to 1-1 favoritism and rewarded her backers with her 2nd straight win. Amador let Mo settle but was just behind the early front pace of Flyin By with Kevin Radke but engaged with the leader at the half mile pole to lead by a head. When they turned for home Mo Connelly had built a 2 length lead and extended to a 2 1/2-length win. 8-1 longshot Dance Lady with Alex Cruz closed nicely for 2nd while Flyin By settled for 3rd and Red Panty Night with Carlos Montalvo took 4th. Mo Connelly ran the 6 in 1:09.12 and races for Horseplayers Club, Rakoczy Racing and Saratoga West and trained by Jeff Metz. The $1 exacta of the favorite to the longshot in a 4-horse field paid a solid $11.40.

2nd Race

6 broke from the gates in the 2nd going 3/4 of a mile and 3rd longshot New Every Morning with Kevin Radke went straight to the lead and dug in when challenged by his stablemate the 3-2 favorite El Chavo Del Ocho with Javier Matias. Both horses trained by Vince Gibson. El Chavo loomed up dangerously on the turn but Radke had saved something for the stretch and pulled away in the final 16th for a clear win by 3/4’s of a length. D K’s Crown with Alex Cruz closed up to be 3rd and completing the superfecta was Crooked Finger Ray with Jose Zunino. New Every Morning ran the 6-furlongs in 1:09.09 and races for Ashley Potts. New Every Morning paid $15.20 to win and the Vince Gibson  to Vince Gibson $1 exacta paid $19.90.

3rd Race

Mr Friday night came through in the 3rd when Alex Cruz took the 6-furlong when he took 7-2 3rd choice Withee to the lead shortly after the start and held off all other 7 contenders. Withee and Cruz battled with Ain’t No Sissy and Luis Negron and had a 1/2 length lead at the quarter pole while setting fractions of 21.91 and 45.12. By the top of the stretch Cruz let Withee roll denying 2nd favorite Big Galute and pulled out to a 2 1/2-length win. Ain’t No Sissy ran tough and  came back to be 2nd while Night to Remember at 14-1 with Carlos Montalvo finished strong to be 3rd by a head over favorite Theuntouchableone with Kevin Radke. Withee races for David Israel and Charles Clark and is trained by Steve Bullock. Withee ran the 5 1/2-furlongs in 1:03.71 and is a Washington bred by Harbor the Gold out of Stormy Bet by Storm Creek. Withee paid $9 to win and the $1 superfecta was a rich $1,197.30.

4th Race

A field of 7 went 6-furlongs and race favorite Fanny Bay Ali with Kevin Radke dropped back last with a sharp tight hand turn out of the gate. It was fortunate the Kevin Radke was able to stay on and there was no collision with any of the other horses. It looked like Fanny was done as she dropped back 13 lengths at the start. But Radke was able to right Fanny and got her goin the right way. Meantime, on the front end 2nd choice Yogya with Carlos Montalvo set up in the stalking position 3rd early on and made their move turning for home taking a 1/2 length lead over Secret Hottie and Jose Zunino. Then from far back you could see Fanny Bay Ali who was very wide begin to pick off runners one by one and was 4th at the top of the stretch but Yogya had built up too big a lead to win it by 3/4’s of length, Fanny was 2nd and a fast closing Avanti Leah with Alexis Valdes was 3rd and Secret Hottie was 4th. Yogya races for Fleur De Lis Stables and is trained by Tom Wenzel.

5th Race

A couple of longshots shook up the tote board in the 5th when 15-1 Dontforgetthesugar with Kevin Orozco swept to the win in literally the last 20 yards of the race over 14-1 La Popis with Alex Anaya. Anaya was looking for his 1st win of the meet and looked like he had it inside the 16th pole but Orozco had more in the tank with Sugar to win by a neck. 2-1 Camden High with Isaias Enriquez got up for 3rd while favorite Miss Mensa with Alex Cruz was the early speed and held on to complete the superfecta. Dontforgettthesugar ran the mile in 1:37.18 and is owned by Penny Hoeft and trained b y Candi Cryderman. The $1 exacta paid $246, the 50-cent trifrecta was good for $128.75 and the $1 superfecta was a whopping $1,025.80.

7th Race
In the finale 7 went to the gates and jockey Silvio Amador bookended the card with a perfectly timed ride aboard 9-2 Ted’s Candy Girl to hold off 13-1 Nomi Lackee with Neftali Ortiz. Amador swept up from 5 wide while Ortiz stuck to the rail to just miss. 2-1 Luvahappyending with Luis Negron took 3rd favorite and front runner Zeva Dee with Alex Cruz finished 4th with Our Girl Ashley and Kevin Radke completing the Super Hi-5. Ted’s Candy Girl covered the 6-furlongs in 1:11.31 and is owned by Ashley Potts, White Diamond Syndicate and Tom Breyer and trained by Vince Gibson, it was Gibson’s 2nd win of the card. The 50-cent pick 5 paid boxcars of $2,630, the 50-cent pick 4 returned $560 and the 20-cent Jackpot pick 6 paid $$1,057. The 50-cent Super Hi-5 got you $311.75.

Larry’s Round-Up

Best Wishes to Bryson Cooper!

All our love and best wishes go to Bryson Cooper who went in this past Monday for surgery on his lungs. Bryson has been struggling with several health issues the past few years  and this was too help him breathe better. He was in good spirits on Sunday when he posted and said he thought he would be in the hospital for at least 5 days. If we get an update we will pass it on. In the meantime, send your love and thoughts to the Cooper family, Bryson and Kay are a huge part of the NW Racing family.

First Win in the United States

Jockey Neptali Ortiz has been an on-again and off-again jockey and checking Equibase has a career record of 19-14-22 from just 141 starts. He won his 1st race at Emerald Downs on Saturday with Baby Frankie. The 4-1 shot came from off the pace to beat Anna’s Iron Man with Luis Negron which snapped Negron’s win on consecutive days streak.

But bigger news is it was Ortiz’s 1st win in the United States. Ortiz had ridden exclusively in Canada. In 2013 he rode 25 races at several tracks and then didn’t ride again until 2016 where he rode 22 races at Northlands Park. He again took time off until 2018 where he road 85 races, splitting time between Northlands and Century Park. We do not know if he rode in those missing years at tracks that do not report to Equibase but we know for sure he had never ridden in the United States until this season at Emerald Downs.

Ortiz had 4 mounts this past weekend and won with Baby Frankie and also picked up a huge win on Sunday with 16-1 Our Empire in the 3rd race on Sunday. He also had a 2nd on Friday night with 13-1 Nomi Lackee and a 3rd on Sunday with 25-1 Pick Your Bid just missing the win by a nose with a 3 horse blanket finish. So far this season he has had 9 mounts with 2 wins, 2 places and a show. His 9 starts have averaged 19-1. His 2 wins average 10-1, his top 3 finishes have averaged 13-1. He has had only 2 rides in single digits at 4-1 he won the race and at 6-1 placed 2nd. This just might open the eyes of some trainers looking for a change up.

Opposite Day

Ortiz’s win on Sunday at 16-1 triggered the rare complete opposite result. It was the 3rd race and a field of 6. Our Empire with Ortiz won it as the longest shot on the board at 16-1. Kevin Radke was on the 2nd longshot Spire at 13-1 and finished 2nd. The 3rd longest shot was 8-1 Quiet Charm with Alexis Valdes and they took 3rd. 4th place was 4-1, 5th place went to the 2nd favorite at 5-2 and the betting choice at 4-5 finished last. So the 3rd race on Sunday was exactly opposite of what the bettors thought and finished in exact opposite order. The 10-cent superfecta reflected that with a $252.89 return or $2,528.90 for the $1 bet.

2-year-olds make their debuts but it’s bottoms up to a shot of Bourbon

The 2-year-olds made their 1st runs on the Emerald Downs track this past weekend and owner Dan Warden with trainer Blaine Wright celebrated with a double-shot of Bourbon sweeping both races. On Saturday, the filly Bourbon Tiger and Alexis Valdes dueled on the lead and pulled away for the win over Mocktails Anyone and the other 5 entries. Bourbon Tiger is a Cal bred by Smiling Tiger. Warden shares ownership of this one with Double R Racing. Bourbon Tiger was the 3rd favorite at 3-1.

On Sunday in the 4th race 8 colts and geldings lined up and Bourbon Dancer with Silvio Amador were bet down to 9-5 favoritism and started toward the back of the pack but weaved his way through traffic and found an opening bursting through for a 3/4 length victory. Warden is the sole owner of this one a New York bred by Bayern.  So 2 were wild in this one with both winners were “Bourbon” names, same owner, same trainer and both won by 3/4 of a length and both took home $13,920 in purse earnings in their 1st start of their careers.

From the Saddle

First no jockey had just 1 win this weekend, all those that won a race won at least 2. Certainly, Neptali Ortiz was a big jockey story this week but Silvio Amador keeps impressing everyone at the track in his 1st year in Auburn. Amador was the top winner this week with 6 wins from 16 starts for a 38% win percent. Amador also had 4 2nds and 2 4ths but got shut out in the show place. Overall he was 75% top 4 finish for the 3 days of racing.

Alexis Valdes had one of his best weeks recording 4 wins from 13 starts for a 31% win clip and an overall record of 4-1-3-2 for a 77% superfecta finish. There were 3 triples this week, Alex Cruz was 3-2-5-4 from 22 mounts for a 14% win rate and 64% top 4, Kevin Radke won 3 and placed, showed and ran 4th 4 times each for a 14% win percent and a 68% top 4 finish. Kevin Orozco busted through his 2nd”itis” with 3 wins and added a place from 14 rides for a 21% win clip.

Those with 2 wins included leading rider Luis Negron who was 2-2-6-3 from 19 starts for a 14% win rate and 68% top 4, Carlos Montalvo had 2 wins, 3 2nds and 1 3rd and 4th from 15 rides for a 13% win rate and 47% top 4 and Ortiz was a spectacular 2-1-1-0 from 4 rides for a 50% win and 100% in the trifecta rate.

The 2 Stakes wins were brought home by veterans Carlos Montalvo and Kevin Radke. There’s a reason to having veterans in the saddle in the big races. Combined Montalvo and Radke have ridden 19,515 races, won 2,563 and earned more than 45-million dollars in purse money.

Full Jockey Standings

From the Barn

Blaine Wright flexed his training muscles this week taking 4 races from 9 starts. He swept the 2-year-old races and then added his 52nd Stakes win taking the Auburn Stakes for the 4th straight time. Wright added a pair of 2nds for a 44% win percent and 67% top 3 finish for the week. Wright is 2nd in the trainer standings with 10 but far behind the leader Justin Evans with 24.

Speaking Evans, it was not his best or worst week just another solid showing with 3 wins with a place and show from 8 starts for a win percent at 38%. Evans is now 24-5-12 from 65 starts for a mammoth 37% win rate.

Steve Bullock had a big week with 3 wins himself and he is now 6-4-4 from 25 starts for a 24% win result. Bullock already has 2 more wins than he did all of last season where he finished 4-6-16. ESN chatted with Bullock who says he is a bit surprised to be off to such a great start but says one big improvement was getting his son Lance Bullock back in the barn this season. Bullock says with Lance pitching in it makes the whole process work a lot better and I’m really glad to have him back. Regardless of the reason why the fast start Bullock is gearing up for a huge year and hopes to keep the momentum going.

ESN Talks with Steve Bullock after Withee wins on Friday

There were 2 other trainers with multiple wins this past week and they included veterans Vince Gibson and Tom Wenzel. Gibson was 2-2-1 from 9 starts for a 22% win rate and 56% top 3 finish. Wenzel started 5 and won 2 and placed twice. one win was in the Seattle Stakes, his 50th Emerald Downs Stakes win and one of his places was in the other Stakes with Lloyds Logic running 2nd. Wenzel collected $37,500 in earnings just off the 2 stakes finishes.

Other trainers who picked up wins included Sergio Alvarez, Bob Bean, Alan Bozell, Shelly Crowe, Candi Cryderman, Luciano Medina, Jeff Metz, Jorge Rosales and Jill Soranno. Both Sam Dronen and Niccolo Troiani each had a win as well and it was both their 1st wins of the season.

Top 10 Trainers by wins
1 Justin Evans  65  24  5  12
2 Blaine Wright  33  10  7  4
3 Tom Wenzel  16  6  3  2
3 Steve Bullock  25  6  4  4
3 Vince Gibson  39  6  8  6
6 Jeff Metz  39  5  8  7
6 Shelly Crowe  10  5  2  2
6 Jill Soranno  14  5  2  1
9 Frank Lucarelli  38  4  10  6
9 David Martinez  30  4  5  3
9 Rigo Velasquez  23  4  5  2
9 Candi Cryderman  41  4  5  6

From the Owner’s Box

Big wins for owners William Hedrick who owns Clovisconnection who won the Auburn Stakes and George Todaro who won the Seattle Stakes with Aloha Breeze. Both horses set Stakes records for time and both collected $27,500 and the trophy. No single owner won more than 1 race this week but 2 owners were winners and then part of another winning group. Dan Warden won both 2-year-old races as a sole owner and a shared owner with the Double R Stable. And Ashley Potts was a sole winner and shared a win with the White Diamond Syndicate and Tom Breyer.

Top 5 Owners by wins
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Claims

Friday Claims
5th Race Camden High $5,000 for new owners Camden High Corp and goes to trainer David Martinez
6th Race Hollywood Mistress $8,000 taken by Rick Kessler and Terra Firma Farms for trainer Joe Toye
7th Ted’s Candy Girl claimed by owners 509 for trainer Jennifer Nunnally

Saturday Claims
1st Race Bikini Nation $8,000 goes to John Parker and trainer Candi Cryderman
3rd Race Moscow Lady $5,000 heads to John Parker and trainer Candi Cryderman
6th Race Contejas $15,000 owner John Parker claims his 3rd of the day goes to Candi Cryderman’s barn
8th Race Anna’s Iron Man $3,500 claimed by owner 509 and goes to trainer Jennifer Nunnally
Bel Regazzo $3,500 goes to owner/trainer Jennifer Nunnally
Warfront Fighter $3,500 taken by new owner Luann Bean for trainer Bob Bean

Sunday Claims
1st Race Gold Rush Candy $2,500 goes to Justin Evans and Bryan Seymore and Evans will train
3rd Race Eye Candy Randy $3,500 goes to new owner Tim Bird Rattler and heads to the barn of Laura Conway
                  Frank’s Fix It $3,500 taken by new owners Jaymie Pearman Cruz and Joe and Gloria Russo and Pearman Cruz trains
6th Race Belle My Belle $5,000 claimed by Cheung Kum for trainer Luciano Medina
10th Race Mean Sharon $3,500 for new owner Pamela Baker and goes to trainer Joe Toye
                   Rolinga $3,500 claimed by Lusk Racing and trainer Vince Gibson

The Betting Windows

Friday Night Mutuels

In the 3rd race 7-2 Withee won and paid a nice across the board of $16.60 while 8-1 Ain’t No Sissy and 14-1 Night to Remember followed in 2nd and 3rd. Night to Remember paid 7-2 on the sh0w at $9.80. The 50-cent trifecta was a solid $159.45 which in the old Longacres days of $3 minimum trifecta’s that would have paid $956.70. The 10-cent superfecta with the 5-2 favorite running 4th paid well too $119.73 or $1,197.30 on the $1 superfecta.

The 1st 50-cent pick 4 of the weekend paid $239.75 on winners of 1-1, 6-1, 7-2 and 5-2.

The tote board blew up in the 5th with 15-1 Dontforgetthesugar winning just edging out 14-1 La Popis to cap the 2nd 50-cent pick 4 at a whopping $2,281.90. The $6 combo on the winner paid $51.80 and the $6 combo on the 2nd place horse paid $16.60. The $1 exacta $246. the 2-1 2nd fav was 3rd and the 3-2 fav ran 4th and the 50-cent trifecta returned $128.75 and 10-cent super $102.58. The 50-cent pick-4 was good for $2,281.90, the 50-cent pick 3 paid $424.85 and the $1 double $121.20.

After the 7th and final race on Friday there were some big prices the 50-cent pick 5 paid out $2,630.40, the 20-cent Jackpot Pick 6 paid $1,057.36 and the last 50-cent pick 4 was a solid $560.45.

Saturday at the betting Window

First 4 races offered few surprises with the best basic wager in the 2nd on 3-1 Bourbon Tiger paying $8. The 1st pick 4 of the day followed suit with the winners being 9-5, 3-1, 5-2 and 1-1 returning a puny $45.90. It is still a bit more than your $2 win parlay over the betting the pick-4. A $2 win parlay on these 4 winners would have paid you $152 where as a $2 pick-4 ticket on the same 4 horses would have paid you $182.

In the 5th race the 3rd highest pay-off of the day in the $2 Win-Place -Show was a $2 place on 11-1 Warrior’s Hero which returned $9.80 on the $2 place. In this same race 17-1 C Jaxon got 4th by a nose over the even money favorite to boost the 10-cent superfecta to $179.09 or the $1 traditional wager which would have paid $1,790.90.

In the 6th race the 2nd pick 4 paid more but not much at just $75. In the 7th race the 2nd largest $2 W-P-S was the $10 win pay-off which was then passed by the $10.80 $2 win in the 8th and final race. Stunningly there were 2 huge pay-outs, the 50-cent pick 5 paid $2,294 from 5 winners with the final odds of 1-1, 3-1, 5-2, 4-1 and 4-1. All 5 winners were the top 3 choices by the bettors. Betting 3x3x3x3x3 in the pick 5 costs you a total of $121.50. If you singled the clear 1-1 favorite in the 1st leg and took 3 in the rest the total cost is $40.50 for a return of nearly $2,300.

The other was the 20-cent Jackpot Pick 6 which only pays the full pot if there is 1 single winning ticket and indeed there was which returned just under $3,000 at $2,993.64. In this case it would be the same horses as the pick 5 which began in the 4th race but add the 3rd race for the pick 6 which was won by the 2nd favorite at 5-2. Betting 3 horses in all 6 races at 20-cents per bet would equal $145.80. If you could find 1 single your bet drops to $48.60 for nearly $3,000. You can get these crazy pay-offs on these longer horizontal bets without hoping to catch a longshot somewhere to get a big pay-out.

Sunday’s Winning Tickets

In the 3rd race on Sunday Neptali Ortiz again blew up the Tote Board with help from Kevin Radke. In the 6 horse field Ortiz was on the 16-1 longshot and Radke on the 2nd longshot at 13-1 and why not, help from Alexis Valdes in 3rd at 8-1. The $2 Combo ticket paid $47.40 on the winner the place horse $13.40 and all three finishers paid at least $6 to show. The $1 exacta was good for $158.50, the $1 trifecta paid $667.40 and the $1 superfecta returned $2,528.90.

In the 4th race the 9-5 fav won but the 1st pick-4 paid handsomely of $729.40.  That sequence was a 9-2 to 3-5 to 16-1 to 9-5 so catching that longshot was key. The $1 daily double paid well with the back-wheel of $98. 

In the 5th race if you got that longshot with the 9-5 and capped it with the 4-5 winner in the Auburn Stakes the 50-cent pick 3 paid a nice $186.05. 

In the 7th a field of 6 saw the 25-1 longshot nearly win losing by a nose to get 3rd and paid $7.60 on the show bet and pushed a 5-2 to 7-5 to 25-1 trifecta to pay $62 on a 50-cent ticket. The 2-1 2nd choice ran 4th and made it a $300 $1 superfecta. 

In the finale, 6 correct in the 20-cent Jackpot Pick 6 was good for $386. The 50-cent pick 5 paid a solid $725.75. The winners were 9-5, 5-2, 3-5, 2-1 and 7-2. These were the favorite, 3rd favorite, odds on fav, 2nd choice and 2nd choice, that is an amazing return.

The final superfecta paid amazingly well too with the 7-2 2nd and 3rd favorites winning and placing 2nd and the 2-1 top choice 3rd and a 7-1 shot 4th paid $44.95 on the 10-cent bet but $449.50 on the $1 super. This was not as great as the 50-cent Hi-5 that added the 5-1 shot that finished 5th. So the top 5 horses by odds finished 1st thru 5th and paid a huge $1,428.55. In case you were wondering what it would have cost to simply box the top 5 horses it is $60 to box 5 horses in the Super Hi-5 so your profit would have been $1,368.55.

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