STARBIRD ROAD BEGINS COMEBACK SUNDAY IN SEATTLE HANDICAP

Starbird Road, 2006 Sprinter of the Meeting, is set to run for the first time since May of 2007. The 8-year-old gelding will attempt to become the first three-time winner of the Seattle Handicap when the venerable stake is run for the 71st time this Sunday.

A Washington-bred by Count the Time, Starbird Road had a stem-cell procedure on a tendon in the fall of 2007 and took off all of 2008. He’s raced strictly at EmD and has won 10 of 19 career starts, including four stakes.

“I think he could have one of his best years ever,” said assistant trainer Sharon Ross. “He’s had the same progression coming back in other years and he knows the routine, knows it’s about time to run. His training’s been great, he’s doing very well.”

Owned by Rick Beal, Starbird Road left vapor trails in his recent workouts, including six furlongs in a bullet 1:10 3/5 and five furlongs in a bullet :58.

“He’s a quirky horse but he’s been pretty good so we let him do what he wants during training,” Ross said. “If he wants to stop and look at something, take his time, it’s no problem.” 

The Ross barn (trainer Larry, assistant Sharon) has had two other horses come back from stem-cell surgery. Knight’s Secret came back to win first out in 2008 and Snark ran third this past Sunday after a nearly two-year layoff.

One thing that might delay Starbird Road’s return is a rainy day. 

“We won’t run him if the track is wet,” said Ross. “He doesn’t like it much muddy and we don’t want to start him back on a wet track. We’re hoping for dry weather Sunday afternoon.”

WASSERMAN TO CARRY HIGH WEIGHT IN SEATTLE HANDICAP

The six-furlong Seattle Handicap is the first of eight stakes for older handicap runners and the first stop en route to the $300,000 Longacres Mile (GIII) on Aug. 16. Defending Mile champion Wasserman (40-9-9-5-$443,649) was assigned high weight of 120 pounds, and the 7-year-old gelding will attempt to bounce back from a fourth-place finish in an April 17 allowance race that marked his season debut.

“I had him too fresh, he wouldn’t rate,” owner-trainer Howard Belvoir said of Wasserman.

Tice Ranch Stables’ Assessment (19-4-1-3-$109,980), Wasserman’s barn mate, is one of three horses assigned 118 pounds and seeks to maintain the momentum established with his half-length win over Margo’s Gift on opening night

Margo’s Gift (13-6-3-3-$308,414) and Fear No Evil (12-4-2-2-$113,698) will make their first stakes starts in the handicap ranks. A Cat Named Snipe (8-3-0-2-$77,480) was assigned 117 and ships in from northern California for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

Probable for the Seattle Handicap: Wasserman, 120; Assessment, 118; Fear No Evil, 118; Margo’s Gift, 118; A Cat Named Snipe, 117; Kruger Park, 116; Reel Prime, 116; Exclusive Eagle, 115, and Starbird Road, 115.

SPECIAL POST TIME THIS SATURDAY ON KENTUCKY DERBY DAY

Due to the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby, Emerald Downs will have a special first post time of 1 p.m. for live racing this Saturday only. Gates will open at 7 a.m. and fans can wager on all 13 races from Churchill Downs—including the Kentucky Derby, which is race 11 at Churchill Downs and will be run between the fourth and fifth races at Emerald Downs.

On Friday, Kentucky Oaks day, gates open at 7:30 a.m. and fans can wager on the final 11 races from Churchill Downs including the Oaks, and the Louisville Stakes featuring the showdown of undefeated Zenyatta (9-for-9) and undefeated One Caroline (5-for-5.)

Also Friday, advance wagering will be available on Saturday’s Churchill Downs card, including a special Oaks/Derby daily double and an Oaks/Woodford Reserve/Derby Pick 3.

For those who can’t make it to the track, NBC (5) will televise the Kentucky Derby live. Coverage begins at 2 p.m. (pacific). Post time for the Kentucky Derby is 3:04 p.m.

2007 LONGACRES MILE WINNER THE GREAT FACE RETIRED

The Great Face, third in an allowance race on opening night, sustained a tendon injury in his left front leg and has been retired, trainer Tom Wenzel said. A 7-year-old Washington-bred gelding by Cahill Road, The Great Face compiled a 7-2-

2 record in 16 starts—all at Emerald Downs— with earnings of $340,159

The Great Face will convalesce at Wenzel’s barn at Emerald Downs. Eventually a good home will be found for the 2007 Longacres Mile winner, and perhaps the gelding will begin a new career as a riding horse

Out of action in 2008 with a bone chip in his right front ankle, The Great Face launched his comeback April 17 at Emerald Downs, finishing third to Assessment and Margo’s Gift after breaking poorly in the 5 ½ furlong race.

“It would have been nice if had won his last race,” Wenzel said. “I’m very disappointed, but I still remember 2007 pretty well.”

Voted Horse of the Meeting after winning the Longacres Mile, The Mt. Rainier Handicap and tying the track and world record of 1:01 1/5 for 5 ½ furlongs, The Great Face earned a state record $292,875 in 2007.

“He definitely has the most talent of any horse I’ve been around, and I trained Harvard Avenue and I rubbed Slew of Damascus,” Wenzel said.

NOTES: Trainer Howard Belvoir has won at least one race on the first six cards of the season and could extend that streak this weekend. He has five horses entered Friday night and seven on Saturday afternoon…Frank Lucarelli holds the track record of 10 straight racing days with at least one win set in Sept., 2006…Weekly honors for April 24-26: Trainer-Doris Harwood (three wins); Jockey-Ricky Frazier (seven wins); Owner-Jon Sather (Ladyledue/Inaugural Stakes); Groom-Oscar Garcia (Ladyledue/Inaugural Stakes)…Juan Gutierrez needs seven wins to become only the third jockey with 600 wins at Emerald Downs…The top three jockeys in Emerald Downs history—Gallyn Mitchell (1,068 wins), Frazier (626) and Gutierrez (593)—also rank one-two-three at the current meet: Mitchell and Frazier (9), Gutierrez (8) …Daily Racing Form publisher Steven Crist, an avowed EmD fan, related a big fish story in his latest blog at drf.com. Last Friday, Crist nailed three of four in the late Pick 4 and in the race he missed—Poncho’s 11-1 upset in the feature—he had four of the six horses covered. The $1 Pick 4 returned $4,318.20…Incidentally, wagering on the EmD Pick 4 is up 45.5 over last year…The remarkable Chinook Pass was honored with a 30th birthday party Tuesday at owner Jill Hallin’s farm in Maple Valley. Born April 28, 1979, at Rainier Stables in Enumclaw, Chinook Pass is the only Washington-bred to win an Eclipse Award (1983 Sprinter) and has made several appearances at Emerald Downs including last year’s Longacres Mile Day…The Gift Horse is offering two free admission passes for every purchase of $50 or more…Trainer Bonnie Jenne said Ladyledue is doing well following her victory in the Inaugural Stakes and said the unbeaten filly would be pointed to the $50,000 Federal Way Handicap on May 24.