6/30/2024

(Auburn, WA) Wrapping up the month of June with an 8 race card with 48 starters. The feature race was a field of 9 going 6 1/2 furlongs and Muncey stunned the field with a huge stretch run at a big price. 

It was also Grandparents Weekend where Grandparents got free admission and on Sunday there were 2 special races one for the Grandma’s and one for Grandpa’s. Last year the replay video went viral with a couple of Grandpa’s going down. This year they were at it again.

Below is our coverage of Sunday’s races and the Grandparents race, let’s get to the fun!

Grandparents Races

Grandma Race
There were about 24 entries set to run for the 1st Grandma’s Championship sprint and Elka came away with the win. Elka pulled away for an easy win meantime taking 2nd in a photo finish was Tawan who just held on for the place finish over the fast closing Mary who nearly got 2nd but settled for the sh0w.

In the Grandpa Race once again a couple of spectacular falls in the run with a total of 4 that went down from the field of 29. 1 went down just out of the gate while two others got a face full of dirt trying to hold onto  2nd and 3rd and the 4th one went down trailing further back. No one was injured in the race other than their bruised egos. The winning Grandpa was Ernie who won convincingly, taking 2nd was Randy and taking the show was Endaro.

Below are both the Grandma and Grandpa races plus interviews with the winners with Joe Withee.

Feature Race 7th Race Muckleshoot Casino Purse

The track on Sunday was favoring front speed and stalkers with no winner further back than 3rd place at the 1st call through 6 races. Many riders would take note and try to fit the pattern of the day and then there’s the Rooster, Javier Matias. Matias doesn’t follow the crowd and knows his horses he rides and just because conditions may not be pointing toward the way his ride likes to run doesn’t mean he’s going to take them out of their comfort zone.

The field of 9 going 6 1/2 furlongs and Matias is on Muncey a known deep closer and had just 3 career wins froim 37 starts. Frankly it was a bit of a surprise Muncey was only 10-1 but Matias wasn’t going to ask the 7 year-old son of Munnings to change his style.

When the gates flung open Muncey in the 3 hole drifted back to last about 10 lengths behind. 7-2 Peter Flies was out winging early but was finsihed early and came in last. Betting favorite Executive Chef at 2-1 and Juan Gutierrez was pressing along with 10-1 Lloyds Logic and Jose Zunino. The opening fractions were 21.75 and 44.08 which was setting up Muncey perfectly.

Matias did not allow the distance to change his strategy and stuck along the rail saving ground and inside the 1/4 pole began to angle out for the stretch run and he knew then if they back up at all he had a ton of horse and began rolling and picking off runners one at a time. Inside the 16th pole Executive Chef finally cleared and looked like a winner but thundering down the far outside was Muncey. Gutierrez who may have thought he was done and just needed to finish but saw Muncey coming and angled Executive Chef out sol he could see Muncey but it was too late as Muncey and Matias finished this spectacular stretch run for the upset win in a final time of 1:15.52.

Smiling Goodbye at 5-1 with Karlo Lopez ran a respectable race to take 3rd and was well clear of 4th place Lloyds Logic. Muncey races for the Rising Star Stable VII and is trained by Howard Belvoir. Muncey picked up the $14,535 winners check and pushes his career total to $142,937. Muncey is now 4-6-12 from 38 career starts for an 11% win rate but he is part of the trifecta 60% of the time.

Muncey rewarded his supporters with a $22.70 win return, $9.10 and $4.42 for a $2 combo pay of $36.22 or the $20 across the board pay of $362.20. The $1 exacta with Muncey and the betting favorite paid 41-1 at $42.97 the old school minimum $5 exacta would have been $214.85. The 50-cent trifecta was good for $84.15 and the $1 superfecta was $966.30.

Muckleshoot Casino Purse Feature Race Replay

The rest of Sunday’s Races

1st Race

A field of 5 fillies and mares went 6 furlongs and although odds on choice Eyelight broke a step slow jockey Kevin Orozco got the filly rolling early and quickly cleared the field setting all the fractions of 22:07, 44.99 and a final time of 1:09.35 blowing away the others in the opener by 3 1/2 easy lengths. Eyelight races for Bruce Cudahy and is trained by Dan Markle. Eyelight is a Washington bred and ran like her Pop Atta Boy Roy is out of Bikini Beach by Harbor the Gold and was bred by Bruce Cudahy.

Smokemonthecliff with Alex Cruz at 5-2 was a clear 2nd while the race was for 3rd with 9-1 Boosical Lady and Kiaman McGregor got her head in front of 4th place 9-2 Drewry with Carlos Montalvo who got her head in front of Aliceshouseofheart in a 3 horse blanket finish for the show.

2nd Race
There were a couple of upsets on Sunday and in the 2nd was one of them when 9-1 Escapefromparadise with Isaias Enriquez dominated the 5 horse field from start to finish. Enriquez got Escapefromparadise out flinging setting times of 22:39 and 45.41 going 6 1/2 furlongs. Those soft early fractions would make it impossible to run down the longest shot on the board as Escapefromparadise wins it by more than a length. Escapefromparadise races for Scott Hilder and is trained by Frank Lucarelli. The 3 year-old filly paid her backers $20.26, $6.54 and $3.32. The 1st daily double returned $20.41.

Betting choice 8-5 Deux Meres with Alex Cruz got up for 2nd in the final strides over 3rd place Lotsa Steel with Karlo Lopez at 7-2 and 2nd choice English Meadow with Luis Reyes took 4th.

Race Replay

3rd Race

A field of 6 went 5 1/2 furlongs and it was a day for front speed and stalkers for the most part and Isaias Enriquez who got off to a hot start this season had cooled off just a bit over the past couple of weeks but he would get back to the winners circle not once but twice on Sunday in back-to-back fashion. Enriquez had the 1-1 betting choice My Quiet Place and sat just behind the front speed of 7-2 Simply Gracious with Alex Cruz. My Quiet Place was all but that as they got to the 1/4 pole and rolled on by to take a 1/2 length lead at the top of the stretch and pulled away for a nearly 2 length win. Simply Gracious held 2nd, Pop Chart closed well from last with Karlo Lopez to grab 3rd at 3-1 and 7-1 Seeyamia and Kevin Orozco was 4th.

My Quiet Place ran the 5 1/2 in 1:03.42 and races for Randall and Rossi and Lucarelli Racing and is trained by Frank Lucarelli. The 3 year-old filly is a Washington bred by Gallant Son out of Kind of Naughty by Songandaprayer and was bred by Chris Randall and Frank Lucarelli. The 1st pick-3 paid $20.86.

4th Race
Another 3rd to 1st run in this race with a field of 5 3 year-olds and up at 6 furlongs and the 6-5 favorite Tribal Impact with Alex Cruz had to work for this win over a stubborn Mischievousholiday and Silvio Amador at 4-1. Tribal Impact put his head in front for the 1st time around the 1/8th pole and held off Mischievousholiday by a neck at the wire in a final time of 1:09.38. The duo were well clear of 3rd place Smooth Papa with Kiaman McGregor at 12-1 and 9-5 New Every Morning with Karlo Lopez showed some early speed but flattened out to take 4th.

Tribal Impact is owned and trained by Alexis Silva-Martinez. Tribal Impact capped off the 1st 50-cent pick 4 of the day with a $56.23 return. There was a late scratch in the race of Cibolo and forced a consolation daily double pay of $2.20 and the double to Tribal Impact paid $9.53.

Race Replay

5th Race

Another late scratch reduced the field to 5 going 5 1/2 furlongs and Karlo Lopez hasd been looking to break out here recently and Sunday he got back to multiple wins winning his 1st on the day with betting favorite She’s Resiliant. Lopez sat 2nd behind Feather Inthe Wind with Javier Matias at 2-1 just waiting and at the top of the stretch had a ton of horse rolling to a 3+ length win. She’s Resiliant races for Jeff Jacobs. This was Jacobs’ 1st start and he is 1 for 1 with his 1st win. Sergio Alvarez is the trainer.

Feather Inthe Wind held 2nd with 2-1 Charmant E and Kiaman McGregor grabbing 3rd and Flyin By at 7-1 with Alex Cruz finishing off the superfecta. The late scratch of Classic Leah also created another consolation daily double.

6th Race
Karlo Lopez would go back-to-back for his 2 wins on Sunday taking the 6th race by outlasting Mr Fireball and Javier Matias. The 3-1 Cajun Treasure went to the lead with Mr Fireball right there with him and the duo would remain heads apart setting all the fractions of 21.51 and 44.27 in the 5 1/2 furlong sprint. At the top of the stretch Cajun Treasure began to inch away and would win by 2 1/4 lengths. Mr Fireball at 9-2 never gave in and was a clear 2nd. Cajun Treasure finished in a time of 1:02.45 and is owned by Stan Munro and trained by Justin Evans.

6-1 Roll Dem Bones with Kiaman McGregor took 3rd by just a head over 9-2 Lil Miracle Man with Carlos Montalvo. Cajun Treasure paid $8.20, $5.06 and $3.52. The 2nd pick 4 paid $23.85 and the $1 superfecta returned $164.70.

Race Replay

8th Race
In the week’s finale or “get-away” race it was all La Popis with Carlos Montalvo who rode patiently on the rail. Sitting back in 5th early and still 4th place turning for home on the rail waiting for an opening and when it did Montalvo and La Popis were gone roaring up the rail for a 2 length win going away as the 2nd favorite at 7-5. La Popis ran by the other 7-5 shot Clay’s Opal Indy with Silvio Amador who dug in to hold 2nd. 20-1 Confidence Builder with Kiaman McGregor threatened but ended up a clear 3rd, 8-1 Mischief Mama with Alex Cruz was 4th and completing the Super High 5 was 10-1 Luvahappyending with Luis Reyes.

La Popis ran the 6 1/2 in 1:15.95 and races for Luciano Medina Gabriel and Hon Cheung Kum and is trained by Gabriel. The final daily double was the highest of the day thanks to 10-1 Muncey winning the feature paying $55.03. In fact all the horizontal bets were boosted thanks to Muncey. The final pick 3 paid $63.25, the final pick 4 paid $210.44, the pick 5 $406.65 and the pick 6 was hit with the winner taking $2,060.74. The Super High 5 also paid out $117.22.

Race Replay

News and Notes

Jockeys
Double-Double
Both Isaias Enriquez and Karlo Lopez were double winners winning 2 races each on Sunday and both did it back-to-back. Enriquez won the 2nd and 3rd races on a 9-1 and 1-1 and both for trainer Frank Lucarelli. The Enriquez daily double paid $35.82. Lopez won the 5th and 6th on an 8-5 winner to a 3-1 victor. The Karlo double paid $13.16.

Other riders who picked up wins included Kevin Orozco and Javier Matias who got their only wins of the week on Sunday while Carlos Montalvo picked up his 2nd win of the week and Alex Cruz finished with 6 wins getting 1 on Sunday.

Trainers

Frank Lucarelli doubled on Sunday to push his season win total into double digits at 11 and in 3rd place. Justin Evans added to his lead with his 22nd win and now is up 7 over 2nd place Blaine Wright.

Alexis Silva-Martinez got his 7th win and topped the 100k earnings for the season so far, just the 6th trainer top get into 6 figures. Dan Markle got his 1st win of the season as he running a smaller barn than he has in the past with just 7 starts.

Luciano Medina Gabriel won his 3rd race and is beginning to pick up after a slow start coming off that spectacular rookie season last year where he finished 6th in the standings with 18 wins. Sergio Alvarez got his 3rd win on Sunday and is on pace to top last year’s 5 wins. And the Hall of Famer Howard got his 3rd win of the season with that spectacular run of Muncey. Belvoir had 8 wins last year but he has always been a 2nd half of the season trainer getting stronger as the season goes on so keep an eye on those Belvoir runners.

Stewards
The Stewards had their busiest week in I don’t know how long with mutlitple inquiries on Friday and Saturday and another on Sunday. On Friday night 2 inquiries led to disqualifications with both takinig down the winner and placing them 2nd. It was the 1st and 2nd DQ’s of a winner this season.

On Saturday there were 3 inquiries and in each case the Stewards determined that no changes would be made and left each race result as they finished. On Sunday another inquiry was posted in the 3rd race between the winner and 2nd place finisher and again they left the result as is and did not make a change.

Last year the Stewards came under some criticism and tried to create a review period which simply confused most people more than helped. This year the Stewards have taken control and are not afraid to post an Inquiry and then not afraid to decide no change is to be made. We like this and to be honest out of the 6 inquiries over the weekend in our opinion they nailed it on each decision. 

Certainly folks who wanted their horse to be put up or not taken down may not agree but the question is would you want them to make the change you want if the situation was reversed? The answer is of course no. The Stewards did not reward riders or connctions for problems they created for themselves and only took down the ones that were clear violations.

The Stewards are off to a great season and we like how they are interpreting the rules and the consistency they are applying their rulings. It’s easy to call out tough decisions and complain but hats off to the Stewards this season they are doing what you want all officials to do is to be consistent and not make it about them but the sport. We think they are doing exactly that which also needs to be acknowledged. 

Claims

1st Race
Smokemonthecliff was claimed by Woodway Stables, Don DeMulling and Shawn Sudo and goes to the barn of Blaine Wright for $15,000.
3rd Race
Simply Gracious was tagged by Anne MacLennan and goes to trainer Dan Markle for the price of $15,000.
4th Race
New Every Morning was taken by new owner John Parker for trainer Candi Cryderman for $5,000.
Tribal Impact has new owners in Carl Petroff, Russell Nakagawa and David Lechmanik for trainer Frank Lucarelli for 5k.
6th Race
Arizona Andrew goes to new trainer Justin Evans for new owners Jeff Plotkin, Sheila Bambauer andf Evans for the price of $8,000.
Boss of Themoss is now owned by Alex and Vincent Ortega for trainer Scott Tubbs at 8k.
Cajun Treasure moves barns to owner/trainer Miguel Hernandez for the claiming price of $8,000.
8th Race
Confidence Builder moves to the barn of trainer Debbie Peery for new owners Harris Farms for the tag price of $2,500.
Mischief Mama is now owned by Diane and James Hickox and Howie Gibson and will be trained by Gibson for $2,500.
Warren’s Memorable goes to the Emerald Racing Club and trainer Scott Tubbs for $2,500.

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