7/6/2024

(Auburn, WA) Saturday was certainly on the warm side and 8 races were on the card highlighted by the Angie C Stakes for 2 year-old fillies. A  field 7 went 5 1/2 furlongs and our coverage of the Angie C is below. Saturday also produced 2 new high pays on the year and some big chances to take home a bunch of cash.

The warm temps and blue skies saw the best Saturday in 3 weeks. A total of 8 races with 56 starters and 3 races with 8 for an average of 7 starters per race on the day. Let’s get to Saturday’s action!

Feature Race “The Angie C Stakes” $55,000 7th Race

3 1st time starters joined the field of seven 2 year-old fillies contesting the $55,000 Angie C Stakes on Saturday and 2 of them ran huge beginning with the winner Precise Timing. Despite the name there was no need for any timing for the Kay Cooper trained Precise Timing as pilot Kevin Orozco let her break quickly and took a 1/2 length lead out of the gate.

Precise Timing would only add to her lead and held Coconut Dreams at bay the entire trip as they ran 1-2 for the entire 5 1/2 furlongs. Precise Timing set fractions of 21.62 and 44.64 and extended her lead at each call leading by 2 lengths at the top of the stretch and winning by a definitive 2 3/4’s lengths in a final time of 1:03.63 over Coconut Dreams with Javier Matias.

Coconut Dreams was coming off a career opening 4th place finish while Precise Timing made her career debut in spectacular fashion. The other 1st time starter to hit the board was Saleen GT who made a nice move on the turn under Jose Zunino. Zunino and Saleen GT were able to pass 4th place finisher Her Blind Side with Alex Cruz but could not catch either of the front running duo. Her Blind Side also ran well and her connections must be excited after winning her career opener by a neck in front running style, she never gave in and just missed 3rd in the Angie C by a neck and less than 2 lengths behind Coconut Dreams.

Despite looking like a wide open race the public was not fooled making Precise Timing the 7-5 favorite, Coconut Dreams was bet down to 5-2 as the 2nd choice, Saleen GT was the 4th favorite at 6-1 and Her Blind Side was 5-1 the 3rd choice.

Precise Timing is owned by Blue Ribbon Racing #23 and trained by Kay and Bryson Cooper. She is a Washington bred by Dialed In out of Peaceful Nation by Nationhood and was bred by Mr and Mrs Frederick Pabst. Precise Timing picked up the winner’s share which was $30,250 for her 1st earnings of her career.

Precise Timing paid $4.78, $3.18 and $2.88 and capped off a big pick 3 return of $382.47. The connections for the other 3 tote board finishers were for Coconut Dreams owned by Oak Crest Stables and trained by David Martinez, Saleen GT owners R. E. V. Racing and trainer Frank Lucarelli and Her Blind Side owned by John Parker and trained by Candi Cryderman.

The Angie C Stakes

The rest of Saturday’s races

1st Race

A field of 6 went a mile in the opener on Saturday under sunny skies and warm temperatures had a wide open field with the late running 3-1 Out of Stars with Leslie Mawing comiong from last to first. Mawing settled behind the entire field and closed along the rail on the far turn then swung out extremely wide but Mawing knew he had a ton of horse and just needed a clear path which got and rolled over the top of all of them to win going away by 3 1/2 lengths with an eye catching burst. Out of Stars runs for Cinbar Stables and for trainer Dale Koler, Koler’s 1st win of the season from 2 starts. Out of Stars is also a Washington bred by Super Saver out of Star Dreamin by Curlin and bred by Chad Christensen.

6-1 Chrome’s Best Copy ran an even 2nd with Kevin Krigger, 6-5 favorite Drinkup Buttercup with Karlo Lopez was 3rd and 5-2 Parker’s Fifteen flattened out with Alex Cruz up to take 4th. Out of Stars ran the mile in 1:38.52 and paid $8.60, $3.96 and $2.38.

2nd Race
1-5 odds-on choice Arizona Davin and Karlo Lopez needed every inch of the 1 mile distance to run down front speed Chinook Bend and did so right on the wire to win by a head. Chinook Bend at 9-1 with Alex Cruz was literally 1 step away from holding on for the win but couldn’t deny the big favorite. Arizona Davin ran the 1 mile in 1:37.81 and is owned and trained by Miquel Hernandez. The opening daily double paid $7.35.

Chinook Bend was a clear 2nd by 12 lengths over 3rd place Dream Time and Luis Reyes at 10-1 with 19-1 Crazy Storm and Carlos Montalvo taking 4th. Chinook Bend’s place bet paid $5.70.

Arizona Davin gets up just in time

3rd Race
6 started in the 3rd race for 3 year-old and up fillies and mares and Ms Flashy Harbor made a nice stalking trip with Kevin Krigger who timed his ride perfectly getting the 9-2 shot to the wire 1st covering the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.35. Ms Flashy Harbor made steady progress and while much of the filed got carried wide turning for home, Krigger cut the corner on them all and drew off to a 1 length win. Ms Flashy Harbor races for Ron and Nina Hagen, Ron Bohlman and Steve Bullock, Bullock also trains. Ms Flashy Harbr is a Washington bred by Abraaj out of Point Da Harbor by Harbor the Gold and was bred by the Hagen’s and Bohlman.

9-2 Emerald Sea with Leslie Mawing ran a clear 2nd, 3-1 Stein’s Girl with Luis Reyes was 3rd and 4th went to 11-1 Smiling Thunder and Allyssa Morales. Ms Flashy Harbor paid $11.66, $6.32 and $4.06 or $22.04 on the $2 combo or $220.40 on the $20 across the board. The opening pick 3 returned $20.80.

Ms Flashy Harbor gets it done

4th Race

8 ran 6 furlongs in this dash for maiden 3 year-olds and up and Bluegrass Go Go was the first front runner to go gate to wire on this day at 3-1 with Luis Reyes up. Reyes and Bluegrass Go Go set all the fractions of 22.38, 44.88 and final time in a fast 1:08.74 and was clear by 4 lengths in the end. Ron Kalina is the owner and trained by Blaine Wright.

8-1 R Barracuda with Isaias Enriquez ran hard to take 2nd, Elder Mack the 1-1 favorite with Carlos Montalvo settled for 3rd in an even effort and 14-1 Sir Argento and Leslie Mawing completed the superfecta. The opening pick 4 paid $91.61, the $1 exacta paid 20-1 at $21.13, the 50-cent trifecta $21.97 and the $1 superfecta $205.10.

5th Race
The 2nd biggest upset of the season was pulled off by Leslie Mawing on 25-1 Sproston who stunned the field sneaking up the wide open rail from the far turn on. Mawing and Sposton sat back in 6th place early worked their way to the inside and waited for their chance and flew home to catch 4-1 Surprise Fashion with Kevin Krigger and 3-5 odds-on choice Sensemaker with Luis Reyes took 3rd while 4th place was 39-1 Marksman On Target and Silvio Amador.

Sproston finished the mile in 1:37.08 and races for 509 and is trained by Jose Navarro. Sproston paid the 2nd highest $2 win at $53.54 but paid the highest $2 place pay-off of $30.24 and $6.88 to show thanks to the large amount to show on the 3-5 top choice that held 3rd. The $1 exacta paid 144-1 at $145.56, the $1 trifecta paid $597.46 and the $1 superfecta returned $6,85.18. Sproston also capped the highest pick 3 pay by nearly doubling the former high pay of $1,099.32 with a pay of $2,130.80 and the $1 daily double paid $215.93.

Sproston pulls off a huge upset

6th Race

2 late scratches drop the field to 8 and Candied Lute didn’t fool anyone with a gate to wire win with Kevin Orozco aboard at the odds of 7-5. Lute and Orozco set fractions of 22.30, 44.41 and a final time for the 6 1/2 furlongs of 1:15.27. Candied Lute is owned by Harley Kowalsky and Serjio Garcia and trained by Elodio Madrigal, his 2nd training win of the week. Candied Lute is a Washington bred by Lutes Gift out of Sweet Pleasure by Candy Ridge and bred by Horse Haven Creek farm.

6-1 Napoletano with Allyssa Morales got their head in front of a 3 horse blanket finish for 2nd while 3-1 Torpedo Away and Karlo Lopez by a head over 4th place March On Linch at 27-1 with Neptali Ortiz riding. The 2nd pick 4 paid out $2,166.09 and the 50-cent pick 3 $871.99 and the $1 daily double paying 300-1 at $301.01.

8th Race
In the finale Alex Cruz was still looking for his 1st win of the week after getting shut out on Wednesday and then blanked through the 1st 7 races on Saturday he made it work in the 8th with a front running win aboard 7-2 Hey Barmaid running the 6 furlongs in 1:10.45 for owner Rage #1 and trainer Joe Toye. Hey Barmaid triggered 2 5k pay-offs, the final pick 4 paid $5,076.86 and the 50-cent pick 5 returned $5,692.88. There was no pick 6 winner and a carryover of $3,411 is up for grabs on Sunday.

7-1 Square Fun and Silvio Amador ran an even 2nd and was a clear 2nd best, 5-1 Candied Joule with Karlo Lopez was 3rd, Ask Alice with Allyssa Morales finished 4th as the 2-1 favorite and 5-2 Hot Lava Cake with Luis Reyes completed the Super High 5 which paid $371.02.

Hey Barmaid closes out Saturday

News and Notes

Jockeys/Trainers/Owners

Two riders had 2 wins on Saturday led by Kevin Orozco who won the 6th on Candied Lute and then the Angie C Stakes on Precise Timing. Orozco won for trainers Kay Cooper and Elodio Madrigal and happened to be both trainers 2nd win of the week. It was Orozco’s 3rd win of the week.

Leslie Mawing also scored twice opening the day with a win on Out of Stars handing trainer Dale Koler his 1st win of the season along with owners Cinbar Stables. His 2nd win nearly blew up the tote board with 25-1 Sproston in the 5th for trainer Jose Navrro and owners 509. It was Navarro’s 2nd win on the year and the 1st for 509.

Owner/Trainer Miguel Hernandez remains hot with another win when Karlo Lopez brought home Arizona Davin in the 2nd for his 4th win as an owner and 8th win as a trainer. Kevin Krigger picked up his 14th win of the year to push his win percent to 33%. Trainer Steve Bullock got his 4th win and the ownership of Ron and Nina Hagen, Ron Bohlman and Bullock got their 1st win.

Blaine Wright got his 17th win and is 6 back of leader Justin Evans in the trainers race. Wright saddled Bluegrass Go Go for owner Ron Kalina who got his 1st Emerald win of the season. Luis Reyes remains hot getting his 2nd win of the week. And Alex Cruz kept his 13 win lead over Karlo Lopez taking the nightcap for trainer Joe Toye who got his 5th win of the season and owners Rage #1 got their 2nd win of the season. Rage #1 got their 2nd win on the day they were honored as owners of the week for last week.

High Temp fall-out includes Baby Races Cancelled

Emerald Downs announced on Saturday that they have cancelled the Baby races set for Sunday due to the expected high temperatures. They have re-scheduled the babies to crawl their way to victory on July 21st, assuming cooler temps will be in play. The only draw back is as announcer Tom Harris mentioned while making the announcement hopfully the would be contestants are still only crawling by the time they get to race.

Emerald Downs continues to be vigilant in monitoring both heat and air quality and have not hesitated in the past to cancel racing when it is deemed too dangerous for the horses and of course people from the jockeys to older folks attending the races. The track allows people to bring in unopened bottles of water and encourages people to stay hydrated.

They were running icee specials and have have plenty of cool and air conditioned areas to enjoy the races from the enclosed 5th floor and inside the 3rd floor. Emerald officials are encouraging fans susceptible to heat to find an area where they can enjoy the racing and out of the heat. Head to any of the customer service counters and they can assist in getting you to the right place.

The Betting Window

The total handle for Saturday was $788,574, averaging $98,572 per race is up  18% over previous two Saturdays. Add in the high temperatures that also no doubt kept some from coming to the track it was a good handle.

From a betting standpoint it was a good day to make money with just 3 betting favorites winning, one odds-on in the 2nd race and both Kevin Orozco’s wins in the 6th and 7th. But despite Orozco winning with both favorites and the 8th race went to 7-2 Hey Barmaid the pick 4 and pick 5 both paid more than $5,000 thanks to 25-1 Sproston and Leslie Mawing in the 5th race.

The exacta averaged 37-1 on the day with an average pay-out of $38, the 50-cent trifecta averaged $67 or 133-1 and the 10-cent superfecta $109 or $1,090 on the $1 bet. Of course the pays were impacted by the huge pays with Sproston at 25-1 but also the averaged was hammered by the 1-5 Arizona Davin overwhelming favorite in the 2nd race.

There were 2 new high season pays on Saturday with Sproston paying $30.24 crushing the former high of $21.20. Sproston also triggered the largest 50-cent pick 3 pay of $2,130.80 nearly doubling the previous top pay.

Claims

3rd Race
In the Vault was claimed for $15,00o and goes to new owners Karen Clark, Jerry Ackerman and Anthony Lombardo and trainer Frank Lucarelli.
5th Race
Sensemaker was taken by Tawnja Elison and goes to trainer Jack McCartney for $2,500.
Socal Red was claimed by Bradford Rudolph and heads to Jonathon Feron’s barn for $2,500.
8th Race
Ask Alice was tagged by James Nunnally and heads to Alan Bozell for the price of $5,000.
Hey Barmaid was taken by new owner Harris Farms for trainer Debbie Peery for $5,000.

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