Stryker Phd shoots for hat trick in $50,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic | Emerald Downs
Published 11:10 am Friday, August 26, 2016
For the Reporter
Fans get another chance to watch Stryker Phd on Sunday when the 7-year-old gelding bids for a record third victory in the $50,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic at 1 1/16 miles.
The Washington Cup presented by Xpressbet features six stakes races exclusively for Washington or British Columbia bred or sired runners with an aggregate $300,000 in purses. Now in its 14th year, Washington Cup includes male and female stakes races for 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds and older horses.
In the marquee event, a field of seven 3-year-olds and up square off in the Muckleshoot Tribal Classic, and with a victory Stryker Phd would join Madame Pele as the only horses to win three Washington Cup races.
Coincidentally, Stryker Phd and Madame Pele are out of the same dam, Striking Scholar, with Madame Pele winning the 3-year-old filly stakes in 2013 and the older filly & mare stakes in 2014-15, while Stryker Phd prevailed in the Muckleshoot Tribal Classic in 2013 and 2015.
Stryker Phd has tailed off slightly this year, finishing third in the Budweiser Stakes, fourth in the Mt. Rainier Stakes and fifth in the Longacres Mile (Grade 3) two weeks ago. But he remains one of the greatest runners in Washington history, and a victory Sunday would make him a three-time WA Cup winner and only the second horse to surpass a half-million dollars in earnings at Emerald Downs.
“He’s training like Stryker, he came out of the (Longacres) Mile good,” assistant trainer Sharon Ross said. “Let’s hope we can win one on Sunday.”
Speaking of Sunday, Larry and Sharon Ross will officially be inducted into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame prior to the 10-race card, becoming only the 16th and 17th trainers to be enshrined.
“It’s a great honor, and it would be even better with a stakes win,” Sharon Ross said.
• The Washington Hall of Fame ceremony begins at 1:45 p.m. with first post time 2:25 p.m.
• The Muckleshoot Tribal Classic is Race 8 at 3:45 p.m.
• The Muckleshoot Tribal Classic includes two of the top earners in Washington history—Stryker Phd is No. 6 with $534,331, Absolutely Cool is No. 27 with $397,187.
Post, horse, jockey, trainer
1, Hoody Isaias Enriquez, Jim Penney
2, Snowball’s Chance, Leonel Camacho-Flores, Guy Winchester
3, Trick or Retreat, Erick Lopez, Doris Harwood
4, Westley, Ronald Richard, Gary Lonctot
5, Absolutely Cool, Rocco Bowen, Tom Wenzel
6, Grinder Sparksaglo, Juan Gutierrez, Robbie Baze
7, Stryker Phd, Leslie Mawing, Larry Ross
Ethan’s Baby looms large in $50,000 Xpressbet
If Emerald Downs’ year-end honors included a category for hard-luck horse of the meeting, Ethan’s Baby would be a front-runner for the 2016 award.
Owned and bred by Todd and Shawn Hansen and trained by Blaine Wright, Ethan’s Baby is one of seven runners entered in Sunday’s $50,000 Older Filly or Mare Stakes at 1 1/16 miles presented by Xpressbet.
Based on class, Ethan’s Baby is the horse to beat, as the 4-year-old Offlee Wild filly lost by a head in the $50,000 Hastings Handicap and by three-quarters of a length in the $50,000 Washington State Legislators Stakes. And last year, Ethan’s Baby missed by a nose in the $50,000 Seattle Handicap and by one length in the $50,000 Kent Handicap.
Although 1 1/16 miles might be stretching it a bit for Ethan’s Baby, she did finish runner-up to Belle Hill at the distance in last year’s Kent Handicap, and her seventh in this year’s Boeing
Stakes was greatly compromised by a wide trip. She also adds Leslie Mawing for the Xpressbet, and he ranks No. 2 all-time with 10 Washington Cup wins.
• The Filly & Mares Stakes presented by Xpressbet goes as Race 5 at 4:24 p.m.
Post, horse, jockey, trainer
1, Dance With Effie, Juan Gutierrez, Candi Tollett
2, Maggie’s Special, Rocco Bowen, Allen Gideon
3 Knight Club, Erick Lopez, Doris Harwood
4 Sadie’s Snowflake, Leonel Camacho-Flores, Tom Wenzel
5 Ethan’s Baby, Leslie Mawing, Blaine Wright
6 Dreamer S., Eswan Flores, Frank Lucarelli
7 Sugarseeker, Isaias Enriquez, Frank Lucarelli
Mach One Rule heads $50,000 Pegasus
In the $50,000 Three-Year-Old Stakes presented by Pegasus Training an Equine Rehabilitation Center, Mach One Rules heads a field of nine slated to run one mile.
Although it’s a short run to the clubhouse turn, and Mach One Rules and jockey Leslie Mawing break from the No. 9 post-position, Mach One Rules possesses plenty of natural speed and should be able to get good position and avoid losing ground.
Mach One Rules is due for some good fortune. By Harbor the Gold-Felice the Cat, Mach One Rules dropped three straight stakes races to Barkley by margins of a head, a neck and a head, before fading to finish fourth in the 1 1/8-mile Emerald Downs Derby.
Barkley, of course, is a Kentucky-bred, which means the coast is clear for Mach One Rules on Sunday, although The Press has improved sharply this season and Huya is fast enough to keep everyone honest early.
Owned by Roy Schaefer and trained by Frank Lucarelli, Mach One Rules is 4-3-0 in eight career starts with earnings of $128,076, and scored a 4 ¾-length victory in last year’s Washington Cup race for 2-year-old colts and geldings.
Incidentally, Mach One Rules’ younger brother (Sixthirteen-Felice the Cat) sold for $63,000 Tuesday at the WTBOA Summer Sale.
· The Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding Stakes presented by Pegasus Training and Equine Rehabilitation Center is Race 6 at 4:54 p.m.
• The Three-Year-Old Filly Stakes presented by Freight NW is Race 7 at 5:24 p.m.
Post, horse, jockey, trainer
1, Party For One, Jose Zunino, David Martinez
2, Rally Cap, Rudy Isaias Enriquez, Jim Penney
3, Guardingthemoney, Erick Lopez, Jose Navarro
4, The Press, Javier Matias, Howard Belvoir
5, Huya, Juan Gutierrez, Candi Tollett
6, Togrammashousewego, Rocco Bowen, Charles Essex
7, Face Valued, Eswan Flores, Chris Stenslie
8, Ryan Walt, Leonel Camacho-Flores, Pat Mullens
9, Mach One Rules, Leslie Mawing, Frank Lucarelli
$50,000 Freight NW features pari of sharpies
In the $50,000 Three-Year-Old Fillies Stakes presented by Freight NW, Copy Begone and Gotta Be Diet C are among 11 entered at one mile.
Trained by Steve Bullock and owned by Al Adams, David Israel and Charlie Clark, Copy Begone leads the meet with five wins and is a contender for Top Claimer. Beginning the season with a victory for a $7,500 tag, the Demon Warlock filly has subsequent wins for claiming prices of $18,000, $22,500, $15,000 and $25,000. Sunday’s race marks her first voyage around two turns.
Trained by Chris Stenslie and owned by One Horse Will Do Corporation, Steve Shimizu and Caden Riendl, Gotta Be Diet C has reeled off three straight wins – most recently a one-mile test vs. $10,000 claimers – and has improved rapidly.
My Heart Goes On, a close third in last year’s Washington Cup race for 2-year-old fillies, has held up well against tough company all season. Owned and bred by Coal Creek Farm and trained by David Martinez, My Heart Goes On missed by a head vs. Princess Katie in the one-mile Irish Day Stakes, and racked up fourths in the Seattle Stakes, Kent Stakes and Washington Oaks.
• The Three-Year-Old Filly Stakes presented by Freight NW is Race 7 at 5:24 p.m.
Post, horse, jockey, trainer
1, Trinni, Rocco Bowen, Jeff Metz
2, Fly Far Away, Jose Zunino, Blaine Wright
3, Oh Baby Oh, Leslie Mawing, Frank Lucarelli
4, My Heart Goes On, Juan Gutierrez, David Martinez
5, Cat Camille, Connie Doll, Robbie Baze
6, Arlington Lady, Erick Lopez, Jim Penney
7, Web of Demons, Isaias Enriquez, Jeff Metz
8, Copy Begone, Ronald Richard, Steve Bullock
9, Gotta Be Diet C, Eswan Flores, Chris Stenslie
10, Listo, Leonel Camacho-Flores, Rosie Simkins
11, Three Forks Gold, Javier Matias, Rosie Simkins
So Lucky looms large in $50,000 Red Hook ESL
In what could be the shortest price of the day, So Lucky heads a field of six 2-year-old colts or geldings in the $50,000 Two-Year-Old Colts or Geldings Stakes at six furlongs presented by Red Hook ESL.
So Lucky has been untouchable to date. By Coast Guard-Miss Pixie, So Lucky has led gate-to-wire in all three starts, winning by margins of 4½, 3 and 5¼ lengths and earning Beyers of 66, 71 and 79.
Most recently, So Lucky ran six furlongs in 1:08.50 while easily winning the WTBOA Lads Stakes over Distortedatthebar. The winning time would likely have been a stakes record, but the Lads was shortened from 6 ½ furlongs for this year’s running.
Fast Parade with a 1:08 flat in the 2005 Washington Cup ran the fastest six furlongs by a 2-year-old in Emerald Downs’ history. But if the track is playing fast on Sunday, perhaps So Lucky could threaten the record.
Interviewed Thursday at the draw breakfast at the Quarter Chute Café, trainer Howard Belvoir was asked if So Lucky is among the fastest horses he’s ever trained.
“It’s hard to say, but he’s got to rank pretty high as a 2-year-old,” Belvoir said. “He’s a nice colt. We’ve been lucky.”
Belvoir is winding down a great meet, ranking No. 1 with five stakes wins and No. 4 with 26 wins overall. Jockey Rocco Bowen, meanwhile, has been up for all three of So Lucky’s wins and tops the standings with 94 wins. And co-owner Rising Star Stable has five stakes wins at the meet, three with Barkley and two by So Lucky.
• The Two-Year-Old Colts or Geldings Stakes Presented by Red Hook ESL goes as Race 3 at 3:25 p.m. It is the first of Sunday’s six Washington Cup races presented by Xpressbet.
Post, horse, jockey, trainer
1, Distortedatthebar, Erick Lopez, Charles Essex
2, Mixo, Javier Matias, David Martinez
3, Don’tbeshywillie, Jennifer Whitaker, Howard Belvoir
4, Satellite Storm (BC), Eswan Flore,s Jim Brown
5, So Lucky, Rocco Bowen, Howard Belvoir
6, Keller’s Gold, Jose Zunino, David Martinez
Risque’s Legacy tops $50,000 Comcast SportsNet
In the 14-year history of Washington Cup, Atta Boy Roy’s 1:07 clocking in the 2009 Chinook Pass Stakes ranks as one of the top highlights.
Sunday, Atta Boy Roy’s first winner as a sire will be on display in the $50,000 Two-Year-Old Filly Stakes presented by Comcast SportNet. Risque’s Legacy, a bay filly by Atta Boy Roy, heads a field of seven juvenile fillies racing six furlongs.
Owned and bred by Karl Krieg and trained by Tom Wenzel, Risque’s Legacy debuted with a nine-length victory on August 13. She ran five furlongs in :56.77 and earned a 72 Beyer – 24 points higher than any of her six foes Sunday.
Risque Humor, dam of Risque’s Legacy, is out of the same dam—Enter Laughing—that produced 2015 Emerald Downs’ Top Older Filly or Mare Lady Rosberg.
Atta Boy Roy has another runner in Sunday’s race. San Juan Star (Atta Boy Roy-Our Monster) has a third and a fourth in her two starts to date, and was claimed by John Parker and Candi Tollett for $15,000 in her most recent race.
• The Two-Year-Old Filly Stakes presented by Comcast SportsNet goes as Race 4 at 3:54 p.m.
Post, horse, jockey, trainer
1, No Talking Back, Leonel Camacho-Flores, Chris Stenslie
2, Olivia Snowbound, Jose Zunino, David Martinez
3, Frostingonthecake, Erick Lopez, Jim Penney
4, Goldazura, Juan Gutierrez, Blaine Wright
5, San Juan Star, Leslie Mawing, Candi Tollett
6, Risque’s Legacy, Rocco Bowen, Tom Wenzel
7, Grace Bay, Isaias Enriquez, Frank Lucarelli
WA Breds and WA Brews Festival
In honor of Emerald Downs hosting it’s 14th Washington Cup Day on Sunday, the racetrack will once again spice up the day’s festivities with its annual WA Breds and WA Brews Festival.
The beer festival begins at 1 p.m.– one hour before first post–to 6 p.m. at The Trackside Park adjacent to the track’s stretch. There will be over 30 breweries on site, which includes the popular Northwest, Redhook, Elysian, Georgetown, Bellevue and Dick’s Brewing Companies.
Fans can purchase a “Guest Ticket Package,” which includes general admission to the races and the WA Bred and WA Brews enclosure, an official racing program, five 5-oz pours and a commemorative tasting glass. Tickets are $30, while groups can reserve a table for $200, or $25 per person with less than 8 people.
Finish lines
Remembertobreathe, coming off a $44.80 upset in the Pete Pedersen Memorial, heads a tough field of $25,000 claimers in Saturday’s $16,600 feature race at one mile. The seven-horse field also includes Big Hat Charlie, Raspberry Road, Its Allabout Jerry,Fire the Trainer, Mike Man’s Gold and Party Pooper. … Roddina Barett said Sorelli and Stella Corona, first and second in the Bank of America Emerald Downs Championship Challenge, will head to Phoenix after the Emerald Downs meet and 3-year-old filly Stella Corona will be pointed to the Turf Paradise Derby. … Rocco Bowen heads into the final 10 racing days with a 32-win lead and only needs six victories to reach the 100-mark. Bowen said his mother, Nancy Ann, will travel from Barbados to watch the final weekend of live racing.
