Champali Lace wins Friday feature | Emerald Downs
Published 9:09 am Saturday, June 2, 2012
Champali Lace continued her winning ways Friday night at Emerald Downs, edging away to a half-length victory over Seattle Game in the $10,000 feature race for older fillies and mares.
With Leonel Camacho-Flores riding at 123 lbs, Champali Lace ran six furlongs in 1:09.01 on a sloppy track and paid $4.60, $3 and $2.60. Junior Coffey is the trainer for owners K Bar J Corporation and Al Rainwater.
A 5-year-old Kentucky-bred mare by Champali, Champali Lace joined Allison Ridge and Go With Gusto as the only horses to win three races at the-23-day-old meeting. To prevail, she overcame both the No. 1 post-position and a free-running Seattle Game, who entered the race on a two-race winning streak of her own, and also was allowed an easy 1-½-length lead after a :22.21opening quarter-mile.
Seattle Game led by a half-length into the stretch, after a half-mile in :44.94, but Champali Lace moved up to challenge and the veteran mares battled through a long drive, with Champali Lace proving slightly better.
Champali Lace is 7-0-0 in 11 starts at Emerald Downs overall, including two wins in both 2010 and 2011. Her career record is 14-7-1-0 with earnings of $40,226, and Coffey credited the patience of the owners as a key factor in her success.
“She has quite a bit of heart,” Coffey said of Champali Lace. “The thing is, when you have an owner who gives a horse a chance to recover (from little setbacks) it makes a difference.”
Seattle Game, the 2-to-1 second betting choice ridden by Leslie Mawing, paid $4 and $3.
It was 4-¼ lengths back to third-place finisher Strategic Patience, ridden by Debbie Hoonan, and a $5.40 show payoff. Tasya, Lonely and Free Outing Mail and Alittlebitfamous completed the order of finish.
NOTES: Fantasyville ($14.60) posted her second straight victory at the meet and her ninth win at Emerald Downs overall with a neck victory in the fifth race. The 6-year-old Barkerville mare is owned by Fantasyville Stables and trained by Dave Bennett*The win on Fantasyville was the second victory of the night for apprentice Eliska Kubinova, and the 23-year-old Czech is now tied with Juan Gutierrez for first in the jockeys’ standings*William Antongeorgi rode three winners and has nine wins in the last four racing days. The Emerald Downs newcomer is only one win behind Gutierrez and Kubinova*The standings are remarkably close as Joe Crispin and Leonel Camacho-Flores are right behind with 22 wins apiece*Antongeorgi completed his hat trick in the finale with a victory on Seventeenmiledrive ($17.80), to give veteran trainer Dino Apostolou his first win of the meet* Stormin’ Bubsy, a full brother to four-time Emerald Downs stakes winner No Flies On Doodle, finished third in his debut Friday night at Hollywood Park for trainer Vann Belvoir and owner-breeder Keith Swagerty*Live racing continues Saturday with a nine-race program at 2:15 p.m.
