7/22/2023
The 7 races on Saturday couldn’t be more different as there were many chances to make a stack of money including the 2nd 10k+ pick 5 of the year. The jockey standings race is heating up with Alex Cruz now within 2 of Luis Negron as Cruz tried to become the 1st rider in State history to win 4 straight Jockey Championships. Plus other news and notes.
Saturday’s card was 7 races with a total of 41 starters for just a smidge below 6 per race average. The total handle was $561,808 and you can see the difference between Friday and Saturday nights where Emerald does not have many tracks to compete with on Friday but Saturday’s there are not only more tracks running at night the day timers are running as many as 14 races so a lot more to choose from on Saturdays.
Alex Cruz Hits a Big Milestone
Alex Cruz arrived at Emerald Downs about 3 and half years ago and he simply keeps on setting a new standard. Cruz has won 3 straight riding titles and seeking to become the 1st 4 time winner all in a row in state history including all of Emerald Downs, Longacres, Yakima Meadows and Playfair.
Saturday night he hit a big personal milestone with his 800th win aboard Freightliner in the 3rd race for trainer Steve Bullock. Cruz’s all-time career record is now 800-829-871 from 5,924 mounts. This is a win percent of 14% and a top 3 finish rate of 42%. He has racked up earnings of $9,263,518.
Currently Cruz is 2nd in the jockey standings just 2 behind Luis Negron and it looks like this is gonna be a great battle and don’t count out Kevin Radke just yet sitting back with 30 wins. Additionally the jockey room might be the strongest in history with Silvio Amador, Carlos Montalvo, Isaias Enriquez and Alexis Valdes plus very professional riders capable of winning any race in Jose Zunino, Kevin Orozco, Jennifer Whitaker, Javier Matias and Alex Anaya. And now another 3 straight riding champ is making regular appearances in Rocco Bowen. All total there are 5 former Emerald Downs riding Champions competing this season and 1 runner-up so it’s only going to keep getting more competitive.
Despite all the competition and coming in banged up after a serious spill at Turf Paradise, Cruz has bounced back and riding with more confidence than ever before. Check out his 800th career win on Freightliner from Saturday night.
Alex Cruz wins career race #800
Jockeys Cruz, Bowen and Trainer Rosales all double
Two jockey’s and a trainer doubled on Saturday, let’s start with the riders. Alex Cruz as reported above scored a pair and now trails leading rider Luis Negron by 2. Negron with 41 wins and Cruz with 39.
Rocco Bowen also found the winner’s circle twice taking the 4th race with 11-1 Owhatarush and the finale in the 7th on 2-1 Asian Rain. Cruz and Bowen are tied for the week lead with 3 each. Carlos Montalvo took the 2nd race, just a 4-horse field but he did it with a last to 1st move on a 12-1 shot blowing up the pick 6 in the 1st leg. Isaias Enriquez won the 5th aboard SummeroftheSamuri his 2nd win of the week and Kevin Orozco got back in the win column with a nice ride in the feature on Nan Elizabeth at 4-1.
From the barn, leading trainer Justin Evans has hit his 1st cold spot of the season but so far this week it’s self inflicted as he has only 1 start but with his huge lead in the trainer standings it’s hard to see anyone running him down.
Last year’s top trainer, Jorge Rosales doubled on Saturday with bookends winning the 1st and 7th. Orczy won the opener and Asian Rain the finale. Steve Bullock continues to have a strong season saddling his 8th winner of the year with Freightline, Frank Lucarelli has officially shaken off the 2nd”itis” he had early in the season with his 15th win of the year and 2nd of the season with Summerofthesamuri, Luciano Medina Gabriel started fast and hasn’t slowed down the 1st year trainer scored his 9th win from 34 starts winning at a 26% win clip.
And 2 trainers not only got their 1st training wins of the year but both were sole owners and got their 1st owner wins as well. Liz Kowalski saddled 12-1 longshot Papawasarollinstone in the 2nd race and Anne Wisdom not only won the 4th race with 11-1 Owhatarush she took 2nd as well with Its Kraken Time at 3-1. That Wisdom exacta paid $46.20.
The 2021 Longacres Mile Exacta are making noise Nationwide
In 2021 Background owned by Bob and Molly Rondeau and trained by Mike Puhich with Rocco Bowen aboard ran down 12-1 Windribbon with Kevin Orozco up in the final strides to win the coveted Longacres Mile. Since then Background has gone on to run in all allowance and claiming races except for last year’s Longacres Mike trying to defend his title but ended up 5th. He picked up wins at Oaklawn and Churchill Downs and last weekend on July 15 won again at Ellis Park in Kentucky. It’s officially the Churchill meet but due to some renovations at Churchill they moved the rest of the meet to Ellis Park. Background is now 7-3-6 from 28 lifetime starts and career earnings just shy of half a million dollars.
Windribbon at the time of the Mile was owned by Seamist Stables and trained by Blaine Wright. Windribbon came back to Emerald last year but simply did not have success so Wright gave him some time off and took him south to his base in Northern California. Wright put him in claiming races and he was red tagged on November 20, 2022 by new owner John Tipton for trainer Isidro Tamayo.
He last ran for Tipton on June 18 and then Tamayo took him to Del Mar for a new ownership group called the Mean Girls Racing Stable but still trained by Tamayo. Saturday, Windribbon made his first start for the new ownership and at 13-1 stunned the Del Mar crowd with a sweeping move on the turn and rolled on to a 1 1/2-length victory with Umberto Rispoli in the saddle. Windribbon is now 7-4-6 from 29 lifetime starts and has banked a little more than $167,000.
Windribbon wins the 1st race on Saturday at Del Mar
6th Race Feature Race “The Muckleshoot Casino purse”
The field of 6 older mares went 6-furlongs in the Muckleshoot Casino purse feature race and the favorite Your Royal Coil broke slow and last costing her all chance but did run on well to be 4th with Neptali Ortiz. Meantime, the front speed laid it down early running the 1st quarter in 21.33 but that wicked pace would cost both Heart on the Run and Pearl River Delta and they would finish 5gth and 6th.
This left the top 3 places for those with a stalking trip and the best one of all was Nan Elizabeth with a terrific ride from Kevin Orozco who maintained his patience sitting 2nd last early and moving into position by the top of the lane split rivals and exploded down the stretch for a 1-length win. Classic Leah and Alex Cruz sat 3rd early got first run and simply couldn’t deny the winner but was a clear 2nd. Gold Coast Girl and Silvio Amador was a solid 3rd.
Nan Elizabeth ran the 6-furlongs in 1:09.30 and is owned and trained by Luciano Medina Gabriel. Nan Elizabeth earned $10,440 to push her career earnings to $61,240 and her career record is now 4-3-3 from 19 career starts. The 4-1 shot paid $10 on the $2 win and ended yet another strong 50-cent pick 3 pay-out of $162.45.
Saturday’s Feature Race Nan Elizabeth from behind
1st Race
Field of 5 went 1-mile an 1-1 favorite Anna’s Iron Man with Luis Negron sprinted to a clear lead while the morning line favorite Orczy who took all the early money drifted up to 2-1 and sat well back in 4th until about midway down the backstretch when Alex Cruz cued up Orczy and began to pull closer. Turning for home Orczy swung to the outside of Anna’s Iron Man and ran them down to pull away for the win. Anna’s Iron Man held 2nd, Thirsty Kiss and Neptali Ortiz closed well for 3rd and 9-1 Proud Lion with Jennifer Whitaker ran 4th. Orczy races for Dawn Spillman and is trained by Jorge Rosales. The Irish 6-year-old gelding ran the mile in 1:36.90.
2nd Race
On Friday the longest shot to win was 3-1, on Saturday that changed quickly in just a 4-horse field when Carlos Montalvo unleashed Papawasarollinstone in a last to 1st move blowing by the field at huge odds in a 4 horse race of 12-1. Papa paid $26.20 and $7 as there was no show wagering after the late scratch. The Third Ring and Neptali Ortiz was 2nd by a head over Silent Declaration with Luis Negron and favorite Oxbow Park and Kevin Radke ran 4th. Papawasarollinstone is owned and trained by Liz Kowalski and is a Washington bred by Grindstone out of Playful Sara by Fast Play and was bred by Karl Kreig. This was Kowalski’s 6th start of the season and her 1st win.
3rd Race
7-5 Freightline got a perfectly timed ride from Alex Cruz who sat off the pace and ran down the pace in the stretch for a clear win. Freightline capped the 1st pick 3 of the day which paid a solid $90 but you had to have that 12-1 shot in the 2nd race of that 4 horse field. Running 2nd was 4-1 Knightline with Rocco Bowen, fellow 4-1 shot Joker’s Four and Luis Negron was 3rd and rounding out the superfecta was the 3rd 4-1 entry Miner League with Carlos Montalvo. Freightline races for Gold Coast Racing III and is trained by Steve Bullock.
4th Race
Another longshot found the winners circle in the 4th when Rocco Bowen broke 1st out of the gate with 11-1 Owhatarush and made every pole a winning one drawing away with a 3-length victory. 3-1 It’s Kraken Time and Kevin Radke took 2nd, 6-5 top choice Diversiful and Alex Anaya settled for 3rd and 5-2 A Skip in the Park with Jose Zunino was 4th. Owhatarush covered the 6 1/2-furlongs in 1:15.78 and is owned and trained by Anne Wisdom. Owhatarush paid $25.20 and capped off a big 50-cent pick 3 of $289.75 and the 1st pick 4 returned $601.95. The 1-2-3-4 order of finish superfecta paid $29.01.
5th Race
A field of 5 lined up to go 6-furlongs and Summerofthesamuri with Isaias Enriquez sat a stalking trip and behind the odds-on choice Seven Sisters with Alex Cruz who led all the way to the final 100 yards. Summerofthersamuri came rolling up and despite Seven Sisters who began to lug out got past for the 1/2 length win. Wiling to urn and Rocco Bowen ran hard to be a clear 3rd and 4th place went to American Royalty with Javier Matias in the saddle. Summerofthesamuri is owned by Carl Petroff, Dan Minardo and Russ Nakagawa and trained by Frank Lucarelli and stopped the clock in 1:09.86. Summerofthesamuri completed the 2nd 50-cent pick 4 with a big $3384.20 return.
7th Race
The finale capped off some big pays, a complete opposite of Friday night where the pick 5 paid $150, Saturday it was over 10k! 2-1 Asian Rain with Rocco Bowen held off 15-1 Warfront Fighter and Silvio Amador by 3/4’s a length for the win running the 5 1/2-furlongs in 1:03.33. 5-1 Miso Fast and Isaias Enriquez ran 3rd, 4th went to 10-1 Mojave and Kevin Orozco and completing the super hi-5 in 5th was 4-1 Bob’s Sniper. The Super Hi-5 paid $1,086.65. Asian Rain races for Generoso Tandiama Jr and Santos Rosales and trained by Jorge Rosales.
The pay-offs to end the night were huge, the $1 exacta paid $32.80, the 50-cent trifecta returned $81.65, the 10-cent super $59.63, the 50-cent pick 4 topped 1k at $1,102.65, the 20-cent pick 6 paid out 5 of 6 and was still over a grand at $1,116.80 and carried over $6,215 to Sunday and the 50-cent pick 5 paid $10,593.85.
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