Darn Good and jockey Jose Zunino drew off for a 1-¾-length victory over Smart Code in Friday’s feature race for 3-year-old fillies at Emerald Downs.
Pretty Darn Good ran six furlongs in 1:10.44 on a fast track and paid $9.60, $3.60 and $2.60. Don Munger, continuing his finest season at Emerald Downs, is the winning owner, trainer and breeder.
Smart Code, ridden by Debbie Hoonan, chased the winner home but settled for second, and payoffs of $4 and $2.60. Reliable Ema, ridden by Connie Doll, finished third and paid $4.
Gee Mimi, Quack Up and 8-to-5 favorite Gentleman’s Red completed the order of finish.
Munger has established an Emerald Downs career-high with 20 wins and is a finalist for the meet’s Top Training Achievement; he’s accomplished his finest season at 88-years-old, and since he also breeds and owns his runners, will easily rank as the meet’s leading owner.
“It’s one of my best seasons in many years,” said Munger, whose involvement with Thoroughbreds spans over five decades. “I’ve got a good assistant, Todd Plummer, and a good team back at the barn. It keeps me going. I can’t wait to get to the barn in the morning.”
Pretty Darn Good is by the sire Nacheezmo out of Picture Girl, and has a 2-2-4 record in 10 starts with earnings of $14,812. The majority of Munger’s victories this year have been by progeny of Nacheezmo, a 12-year-old son of Carson City that stands at the Munger farm in Enumclaw.
In the $0.50 Pick 5, fortified by a $5,851 carryover, tickets with all five winners paid $319.
NOTES: Jockey Juan Gutierrez was off his mounts Friday with illness. The meet’s leading rider with 110 wins, Gutierrez is expected to ride Saturday*Leslie Mawing rode two winners on the seven-race card but still trails Gutierrez by 17 wins with only two days left in the meet*Connie Doll posted her first riding double of the season with victories on Our Pretty Woman ($26.20) in the second race and Southfork Pegasus ($7) in the third. Doll is eight-for-44 at the meet for a solid 18.1 win percentage*Jennifer Whitaker notched a win on Footnotedisclosure ($12) in race five and tied Debbie Hoonan for top woman rider in track history at 407 apiece. Whitaker has won aboard five of her last 12 mounts*Awesome Gem, third in the 2012 Longacres Mile, has been retired according to Terry Finley, president of West Point Thoroughbreds. The decision to retire was made after trainer Craig Dollase discovered filling in the right fore leg of the 9-year-old gelding. Awesome Gem is the only horse to finish first, second and third in the Longacres Mile*Live racing continues Saturday with first post 2 p.m.
