Chaching Pete resumed his winning ways Friday night at Emerald Downs. With leading rider Juan Gutierrez aboard, the 6-year-old gelding cruised to a 2 ¼ length victory over Chicks Dig Him in the $10,500 Ashbaugh Beal Challenge Purse for 3-year-olds and up at Emerald Downs.
Chaching Pete ran six furlongs in 1:09.03 on a sloppy track and paid $3.60, $2.60 and $2.10. Bill Tollett is the trainer for owner John E. Parker.
A Washington-bred gelding by Petersburg-Vying High, Chaching Pete has won six of his last nine starts, including three wins at the current meet.
Chicks Dig Him, ridden by Eliska Kubinova, rallied from last to finish second and paid $3.20 and $2.10. Davos, ridden by Ronald Richard, held third place in an encouraging comeback effort and paid $4.
City Twister, Tribaltique and Jade Road completed the order of finish.
Chaching Pete has an overall mark of 10-6-4 in 24 starts with earnings of $59,450. Friday’s first-place check, $5,775, helped turn a tidy profit for Parker, who claimed Chaching Pete for $7,500 on August 24 and lost him Friday for $10,000 to owner/trainer Preston Boyd.
NOTES: With a victory in Friday’s fifth race, Olympic Lights ($3.40) moved into sole possession of the No. 2 spot on the track’s all-time win list with 17 victories, breaking a three-way tie for second with Bob Stories and Market Master. A 9-year-old Washington-bred gelding by Tropic Lightning, Olympic Lights is 17-9-4 in 44 starts at Emerald Downs and four wins back of West Seattle Boy on the all-time list*Isaias Enriquez, rider of Olympic Lights, celebrated his 40th birthday Friday and remains four wins behind Gutierrez, 91-87 in the jockeys’ standings*Frank Lucarelli, bidding for a third straight training title, saddled Southern Influence ($5.60) to a victory in the Friday opener and leads Jeff Metz 37-35 atop the trainers’ standings*Anne Sanguinetti rode Diamond Peak ($18.60) to an upset in race seven and is an outstanding 21-for-71 (29.5 percent) in route races this season*There were some big show wagers Friday as Olympic Lights accounted for $16,459 of $19,068 in the show pool and Chaching Pete had $12,223 of $16,785 wagered to show*Jockey Leonel Camacho-Flores, shaken up in a spill last week, returned to action and rallied Big Black Cat ($10) from behind to score over 3-to-5 favorite Brother Greg in Friday’s third race*Jacob Pollowitz*a.k.a. Professor Pollowitz*made it two straight winners as Cresent McGain ($10.60) rallied to score in race four under Javier Matias*Carrabelle Harbor, a triple stakes winner at Emerald Downs and runner-up in the 2012 Emerald Distaff, has been retired and will be bred to Sixthirteen, according to breeder/co-owner Pam Christopherson. A 5-year-old Oregon-bred trained by Doris Harwood, Carabelle Harbor’s final win was in a $32,000 allowance/optional claiming race on June 8*Live racing continues Saturday with a nine-race card at 2 p.m.
