For the Reporter
Grinder Sparksaglo rallied past Dark Brago and scored a three-quarter-length victory Saturday in the $18,900 Sound Transit Purse for 3-year-olds at Emerald Downs.
Ridden by David G. Lopez, Grinder Sparksaglo ran six furlongs in 1:09.98 and paid $3.80 and $2.40. Robbie Baze is the trainer for owners Les Lynd and Richard Sena.
A Washington-bred by 1996 Kentucky Derby winner Grindstone, Grinder Sparksaglo has won two straight, and is 2-1-2 in six starts overall with earnings of $27,166.
Smart Copy, ridden by Juan Gutierrez, caught Dark Brago in the final jump for second and paid $3.40 to place.
Dark Brago, ridden by Javier Matias, led to deep stretch and finished third. Hoody finished fourth, and Spit and Shine was scratched earlier in the day.
For Lopez, it was his second win of the day and vaulted him to fourth place overall with 52 wins. Baze has 21 wins at the meet and is tied for sixth place with Tim McCanna, Chris Stenslie and Blaine Wright.
Notes
Leslie Mawing rode four winners to push his season total over the century mark to 102 wins in 72 days. Mawing has 29 multiple win days at the meeting, including one five-win day and five four-win days. He also leads with 11 stakes wins. … Rocco Bowen, second in the standings, rode two winners Saturday to boost his total to 70 wins. … Razor-sharp Southern Solution ($5.20) made it three straight victories and four wins in five starts with a 1¾-length score in Saturday’s seventh race for FLKC Stable and trainer Roy Lumm. A 4-year-old Southern Africa gelding, Southern Solution is 9-for-19 the last two seasons at Emerald Downs. … Speaking of hot horses, Lake Piru ($4.60) made it three wins in five starts for trainer Jeff Metz with a gate-to-wire score in race eight for 3-year-old fillies. It was the 49th win of the meet for the 2014 training champion. … Teacra ($8.80) prevailed in Saturday’s third race to extend trainer Joe Toye’s streak to four straight days with at least one win. … Live racing continues Sunday with the 73rd and final day of the 2014 live racing season. The 11-race card begins at 2 p.m. and features a stakes doubleheader for 2-year-olds*Trackattacker in the $65,000 Gottstein Futurity and the $50,000 NWSS Cahill Road Stakes. … Season honors in all horse divisions including 2014 Horse of the Meeting will be announced during Sunday’s races. … Sunday also is Fan Appreciation Day with $1 admission, $1 programs, $1 preferred parking and much more.
