8/10/2024
(Auburn, WA) The day before the big race day of the season and began with the final Breakfast at the Wire morning work-out show at 8am. Then just prior to the races the Washington Racing Hall of Fame inducted 4 new members and the 4th race honoring the new inductees was the feature race of the day. A field of 8 2 year-old fillies went 5 1/2 furlongs.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held at 1pm about an hour prior to racing. The newcomers to the HOF included trainer Junior Coffey, jockey Basil Frasier, horse Flag De Lune and media person Jon White. We’ll post our story on the Hall of Fame class of 2024 later next week so it doesn’t get lost in all the raciong news this week.
Lots to cover on Championship Sunday eve let’s get to it!
4th Race Hall of Fame Purse and Feature Race
The Hall of Fame purse had 8 2 year-old fillies going 5 1/2 furlongs and featured 7 1st time starters and 1 with 2 races under her belt. Rebel Gal was the only one with experience and was the 3-1 2nd favorite. #1 Maximum Sparkle with Carlos Montalvo went off as the 3-2 top choice and the rest of the field was well spread out.
Rebel Gal did break on top but ran out of gas at the top of the stretch to finish 7th. Ima Margarita Girl with Kevin Orozco at 5-1 was up close to the inside of Rebel Gal and 5-1 Beauty Bark with Isaias Enriquez sat in 4th from the 8 hole. The fractions set to the stretch were 22.13 and 45.69 and that’s when Ima Margarita Girl took her shot up the inside.
At the same time Enriquez released the brakes on Beauty Bark and she came roaring up to engage the leader and swept on by to take the lead and drew away for a 4 1/2 length win in a final time of 1:05.11. Ima Margarita Girl showed grit and held on well to be 2nd, Maximum Sparkle ran a solid career debut to close to be 3rd and 19-1 Misty Malibu with Leslie Mawing got up for 4th.
Beauty Bark races for the Parrot Head Racing and trained by Kay Cooper. Beauty Bark also is the 1st winner for Barkley who began sending his first offspring to the track this year. Beauty Bark is his 1st winner. Beauty Bark earned $13,680 for the win. Beauty Bark is a Washington bred by Barkley out of Arlington Lady by Nationhood and was bred by Robert Donnell.
2nd and 4th place runners Ima Margarita Girl and Misty Malibu are both trained by long time NW trainer Mike Puhich and these are his first 2 entries this season at Emerald. Puhich won the Longacres Mile with Background in 2021 for owners Bob and Molly Rondeau with Rocco Bowen riding.
Beauty Bark paid $12.34, $5.08 and $2.76, Ima Margarita Girl returned $6.30 and $3.20 and favorite Maximum Sparkle $3. The $1 exacta paid $37.15, the 50-cent trifecta $53.52 and the $1 superfecta $572.10.
Equibase Chart and full pay-outs click here
ESN talked with Trainer Kay Cooper
Hall of Fame Race Replay
The rest of Saturday’s races
1st Race
In the opener 5-2 2nd choice Nomi Lackee went wire-to-wire in the 5 1/2 furlong sprint with Luis Reyes up and won handily by 2 lengths in a final time of 1:04.51. Neissa with Manuel Americano at 9-1 got up for 2nd by a neck over 3rd place Mean Sharon and Karlo Lopez at 7-2 and 7-5 favorite Confidence Builder was 4th with Alex Cruz.
Nomi Lackee is owned and trained by Serjio Garcia. This was Garcia’s 1st ever training win and he did it with his 1st career start as a trainer. He began the year owning horses and had Elodio Madrigal as his trainer but now has his own trainer’s license and is off to a perfect start.
Equibase Chart and full pay-outs click here
Luis Reyes wins on his Birthday
2nd Race
5 broke from the gate in race 2 going a mile and Pocket Knife with Jose Zunino broke well and sat 2nd but took control at the 3/4’s mark and just kept adding to her lead winning by 6 lengths in a final time of 1:38.96. The 2-1 2nd choice pulled away from odds-on pick Devil d’ Oro and Kevin Krigger who were a clear 2nd by nearly 9 lengths. 3rd place went to 10-1 Engaging Soul and Kiaman McGregor while 4th place was Gormley Gal and Manuel Americano.
Pocket Knife gave trainer Doug Carlson his 1st win of the season and he also owns Pocket Knife with Doug C. Carlson. Pocket Knife is a Washington bred by Lutes Gift out of Knife River by Smoken Glacken and was bred by Horse Haven Creek farm.
Equibase Chart and full pay-outs click here
3rd Race
The slight 2nd 2-1 choice Pedal to the Metal with Kiaman McGregor stalked perfectly in this one, squeezed through at the 1/8th pole and won going away by nearly 3 lengths in a final time 1:17.31. 7-2 Night to Remember and Jose Zunino got up for 2nd by a neck, 6-1 Pass the Crown with Juan Gutierrez was 3rd and 4th went to the 2-1 favorite Ice Tower with Alex Cruz.
Pedal to the Metal races for Carl and Debbi Seymour and trained by Carl Seymore. Pedal to the Metal is a Washington bred by Harbor the Gold out of Slews Fancy by Slewdledo and was bred by Carl Seymour.
Equibase Chart and full pay-outs click here
Kiaman McGregor squeezes through a tight spot to get the win
5th Race
Trainer Scott Tubbs sent out a pair of runners in this 6 1/2 furlong run with 5-1 Rafanelli and Manuel Americano and 3-1 Don’t Tell Hydee and Luis Reyes. Rafanelli broke 1st and Don’t Tell Hydee was within a head and very little separated the duo from start to finish. Down the stretch they would roll and just when it looked like Don’t Tell Hydee was going surge a bit more Rafanelli dug deep and got the nose down first denying her stablemate the win. Lemon Drop Lady at 9-1 with Allyssa Morales ran 3rd with 6-1 Dansmetotheendoflov and Karlo Lopez was 4th.
Whoever won didn’t matter toTubbs but it did to his owners as Alex and Vincent Ortega got the nose win over the Rainier Racing Club. The Scott Tubbs exacta paid $30.07.
Equibase Chart and full pay-outs click here
Scott Tubbs Exacta finish
6th Race
There were 8 starters in the 6th race starter allowance for fillies and marea and Willing to Burn at 7-1 broke 1st going the mile and 70 yards and made each pole a winning one cruising to a 5 length victory in a final time of 1:41.09. Willing to Burn races for Mike Thompson and is trained by Charlie Essex. Willing to Burn capped off a big 50-cent pick 3 paying $252.
1-1 favorite Parco with Alex Cruz chased and was a clear 2nd, 13-1 Shes Got the Power with Maneul Americano ran 3rd and 8-1 Luvahappyending was 4th with Silvio Amador.
Equibase Chart and full pay-outs click here
7th Race
In the finale the Kevin Krigger/Justin Evans combination got back on track with a gate to wire win with Kaline going a mile and 70 yards winning comfortably in a final time of 1:40.52. Kaline was 3 1/2 in front of 2nd place Emperorofthenorth with Silvio Amador at 5-2. 12-1 Clayton Delaney and Alex Cruz completed the trifecta while 4th place went to 13-1 Hey Sequoia and Leslie Mawing and Beau Mischief with Karlo Lopez capped off the 50-cent Super High 5 in 5th. The super high 5 paid out $367.64.
Kaline is owned by Paul Miller and trained by Justin Evans. The 50-cent pick 4 had a nice pay-out of $1,127.15 and the pick 5 paid big again $2,017.74.
Equibase Chart and full pay-outs click here
News and Notes
Barkley gets his 1st win as a stud
Barkley was a much beloved horse from the Howard Belvoir barn during his racing career that included Belvoir’s 3rd Longacres Mile championship in 2018. Barkley was a 6 time Stakes winner from his 20 lifetime starts. In his 1st allowance start in May of 2019 he suffered an injury and was off for more than a year when he came back in July of 2020 and ran 2nd in another allowance race.
Barkley then ran in the Mt Rainier Stakes and finished 7th when his regular rider Javier Matias didn’t feel he was right and Belvoir immediately retired him after his final race. Barkley went to the stud farm and his first crop is hitting the track this season. Barkley’s lifetime record was 10-5-1 from 20 lifetime starts with a 50% wun rate and an 80% top 3 finish with career earnings of $368,425.
Beauty Bark was the 6th to start and 1st to record a win. His others have all started at Emerald Downs except except Ginger in Charge who is racing in Wyoming. G Dawg, Saleen GT, Company Girl and Impassable with Ginger and Beauty Bark have a combined 1-2-2-1 record as 2 yer-olds from 9 total starts and have earned a combined $30,192.
Barkley known for the big white blaze down the front of his face is also a charactreistic of his offspring and it was sure great to see that face come rolling down the stretch first on Saturday. We’e looking forward to continuing to follow the magnificent work of the beloved Barkley.
Tubbs exacta finish
Trainer Scott Tubbs nearly deadheated with himself in Saturday’s 5th race when Rafanelli got her nose just in front of stablemate Don’t Tell Hydee. Trainer Bob Bean’s Lemon Drop Lady ran 3rd. The 2 trainers crossed paths near the winners circle on Saturday with Bean congratulating Tubbs and we were nearby and had to congratulate both for getting their exacta finishes. Bean did it for the 1st time last Sunday when Vhagar won at huge 37-1 odds and his 2nd entry Square Fun was the 2-1 favorite.
Bean’s $1 exacta paid $274.31 while Tubbs horses were 5-1 and 3-1 and paid $30.07. Bean had stated his exacta finish was the first in his long career which began in 1984. This was also Tubbs’ 1st career exacta finish in his career as well which began in 1996. When we congratulated both trainers on Saturday Bean with his dry wit said “yah but mine paid a lot more than his, really some shoddy work” he quipped with a smile as he shook Tubbs’ hand. Congratulations to both getting their 1st exacta finishes and shows it is not an easy thing to accomplish as combined for these 2 it took 68 years to do so.
Jockeys
Saturday there were no double winners with 7 different riders getting wins and several riders that have not dominated the winners circle. Kiaman McGregor got his 5th win of the year, Jose Zunino his 8th trip to the winners circle and apprentice Maneul Americano his 4th win of his career. Isaias Enriquez, Kevin Krigger and Karlo Lopez also got wins. And the 1st race was won by Luis Reyes which was also his birthday so Happy Birthday Luios and way to celebrate with a win.
New Silks
Not only did Beauty Bark win for the 1st time for Barkley the new ownership group the Parrot Heads lit up the track with their silks. The over the top fun and colorful silks certainly will catch your eye. Then in the 7th race the new Baby Shark ownership sent out Hey Sequoia with Leslie Mawing and immediately threw their hat into the ring for the newest and most fun silks at the track. Kudos to both groups for lighting up the skies with their new colors!
Claims
1st Race
Confidence Builder was red tagged by owner/trainer Miguel Hernandez for $2,500.
Mean Sharon was claimed by owner/trainer Serjio Garcia for $2,500.
Neissa was taken by owner/trainer Tena Birdwell for $2,500.
Nomi Lackee has a new owner in T K Racing and goes to trainer Jorge Rosales for $2,500.
3rd Race
Pedal to the Metal was claimed by Karen Clark and Jerry Ackerman and goes to trainer Frank Lucarelli for $8,000.
5th Race
Don’t Tell Hydee was taken by Rakoczy Racing and Justin Evans ansd Evans will train for $8,000.
Scatalicious was claimed by Camelot Racing and goes to trainer Scott Tubbs for $8,000.
www.elisportsnetwork.com
