Zayda’s late rally fell a neck short in the $50,000 Pepsi-Cola Handicap, but the strapping 3-year-old was promoted to first place via disqualification in a wild finish Sunday at Emerald Downs.
Rainier Ice, ridden by Gallyn Mitchell at 117-pounds, crossed the wire first, running one mile in 1:36.90 on a fast track, but was disqualified and placed fourth for causing interference in deep stretch. The 5-to-2 second choice in the wagering, Rainier Ice came in sharply approaching the wire, bumping Zayda, setting off a chain reaction of bumps in the final jumps before the wire.
The stewards immediately opened an inquiry, and Rainier Ice was placed fourth, behind Zayda, Winter Warlock and Showme Yourfriends.
Ridden by Leslie Mawing at 118-pounds, Zayda earned his first stakes victory and paid $18.60, $5.60 and $3.40. Blaine Wright is the trainer for owner Heidi Nelson of Bothell, WA.
Winter Warlock, Joe Crispin riding at 119, finished a nose behind Zayda in third place, but was moved to second and paid $3.80 and $3.
It was another neck back to Showme Yourfriends, ridden by Deborah Hoonan-Trujillo at 119, in fourth place. Winner of last month’s Auburn Handicap at 50-to-1, Showme Yourfriends was placed third and paid $3.60.
Rainier Ice, running in his first stakes event and first distance race, rallied from seventh place to take a short lead past mid-stretch, and out-finished both Winter Warlock and Showme Yourfriends in a dogged stretch drive. However, the drifting incident cost the Forestry colt the victory.
Zayda, meanwhile, had no early speed, but unloaded with a late burst and Mawing said the Bluegrass Cat colt would have crossed the wire first with a clean run.
“Once Zayda makes his move, he really makes his move,” Mawing said. “I asked him at the quarter-pole to pick it up a little bit. By the eighth-pole, I really started to ask him. I thought for sure we were going to win at the sixteenth-pole. I found the hole that I wanted, and then got stopped towards the end.
” The horse on our outside (Rainier Ice) really came in and stopped us from winning. I got bumped so hard that my stick came out of my hand. The stewards made the right decision.”
Zayda showed promise last winter at Golden Gate Fields, and Wright and Nelson chose to back off and gear the colt toward an Emerald Downs campaign. His belated rally netted a fifth in the 6 ½-furlong Auburn, and Sunday’s showing stamps him a contender for the $65,000 Emerald Derby at a mile and one-eighth on Aug. 14. His overall record is 2-0-1 in seven starts with earnings of $54,490.
Elusive Noise wins Irish Day Handicap
Two races earlier, in the $50,000 Irish Day Handicap for 3-year-old fillies, Elusive Noise (above) held off 7-to-10 favorite Class Included for a half-length victory in 1:37.11 for one mile.
Ridden by Juan Gutierrez at 118, Elusive Noise paid $8, $3.20 and $2.80. The daughter of Elusive Quality led all the way while setting fractions of :23.69, :47.62, 1:12.04 and 1:24.29.
Class Included, Mawing riding at 119, was hard to rate while racing just off the leaders, angled out into the lane and finished well to just miss the win. The runner-up paid $2.40 and $2.10.
It was a nose back to For You My Heart, ridden by Javier Matias at 116, and a $2.80 show payoff. Seventyprcentcocoa and Debbie’s Striker completed the order of finish.
Gutierrez, riding the Irish Day winner for the second straight year, said the race unfolded just as planned. The main question was whether his filly could carry her speed the distance.
“I wasn’t sure if my horse would be able to run a mile,” Gutierrez said. “There were some tough fillies in the race. The plan was to take the lead and get her to relax. Her last race (in the Seattle Handicap) she didn’t relax at all on the lead. Today she was really relaxed, and I knew that she would be tough to pass in the stretch. The race followed the plan, and we got the win.”
Purchased for $110,000 as a yearling, Elusive Noise has a 3-0-0 record in four starts with earnings of $51,930 for owners Northwest Farms and Debbie Paxton. Tom Wenzel is the trainer.
NOTES: Apprentice jockey Lance Bullock, the 19-year-old son of trainer Steve Bullock, notched his first win at Emerald Downs aboard nine-length winner Sky Tribute ($4.40) in the second race for trainer Dan Kenney and owner Seawind Stables. Bullock rode his first winner last October at Portland Meadows and has 15 career victories…Buzznalawng, the only filly in the race and the longest shot on the board, scored a two-length victory in Sunday’s 4 ½-furlong opener for maiden special weights 2-year-olds. The daughter of Dehere paid $17.80 and was timed in :51.78…Jockey Jorge Rosales doubled his meet win total with long shot victories on Run Atom ($12.20) in the third race and Miss Cerrochina ($25.80) in the fifth…Jockey Joe Crispin book-ended the card, winning the opener on Buzznalawng and the nightcap aboard Peanutbutter Onit ($8.60)…In the Thoroughbred trainers standings, Howard Belvoir leads son Vann Belvoir by a 23-19 margin…The $0.50 Pick 5, buoyed by a two-day carryover of $8,009, handled $30,168 and paid $1,500.10 to tickets with five winners…Through 11 weeks of racing Mawing leads Crispin 46-44 in the Thoroughbred standings, followed by Juan Gutierrez with 39 and Deborah Hoonan-Trujillo with 38…Live racing resumes Friday with first post at 6:15 p.m. The four-day holiday racing week includes the annual Fireworks Spectacular at 4:30 p.m., Sunday, July 3.
