Owner Glen Todd said Taylor Said is doing well and resting comfortably at Pegasus Thoroughbred Training and Equine Rehabilitation Center in Redmond, since his head victory in Sunday’s 77th Running of the $200,000 Longacres Mile (G3).
A 4-year-old by Stephanotis, Taylor Said notched his six straight win in The Mile and could be headed to Southern California to start in the $1 Million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita on November 3.
“We might take a crack at the Breeders’ Cup,” Todd said. “Right now, he’s going to rest at Pegasus and then we’ll go from there.”
Todd’s other Mile runner, St Liams Halo, who finished fourth, is already back home in Vancouver, B.C. prepping for his next start in the $50,000 S.W. Randall Plate Handicap at Hastings on Sept. 9. Todd said he’s happy with how both horses ran, and how they came out of the race.
“It was such a big day,” Todd said. “Both horses came back pretty tired. They ran hard out there, but they’re doing great.”
Frank Lucarelli has taken a glass half-full approach to a weekend that nearly became the biggest in the trainer’s 33-year-career. Saturday, Stormy Lucy came within a half-length of winning the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks, and Sunday, Winning Machine was beaten a head while finishing second in The Mile.
“We gave ’em a hell of a run, we scared ’em,” said Lucarelli, the meet’s leading trainer with 39 wins. “They both ran great, and that’s all you can ask.”
Winning Machine was bleeding from the mouth when he returned to be unsaddled, but Lucarelli said the injury was superficial, and that the 6-year-old gelding would be pointed to the $100,000 British Columbia Premier’s Handicap at Hastings Racecourse on October 8.
Gallant Son, seventh in The Mile, is going to be freshened in California and pointed to downhill turf races at the Santa Anita winter/spring meeting, Lucarelli said.
Stormy Lucy, meanwhile, suddenly is Grade 1 stakes-placed for Lucarelli and owner Frank Gaunt, and the Stormy Atlantic filly could run vs. older horses Sept. 29 at Santa Anita in the $250,000 Rodeo Drive at 1-1/4 miles on turf.
As for Awesome Gem, trainer Craig Dollase said he was proud of the 9-year-old’s third-place finish, and said the gelding might have been “right there” with better racing luck.
“Tough trip, but that’s the way the ball bounces,” Dollase said. “The horse is a real trooper.”
Awesome Gem will remain at Emerald Downs until shipping partner Gladding gets medical clearance to return to Southern California. Awesome is stabled with Tom Wenzel while Gladding is with Mike Puhich.
“He’s in good hands up there with Tom Wenzel,” Dollase said. “I imagine we’d look at something at Santa Anita for his next race.
Other Longacres Mile Developments:
In the $30,000 Longacres Mile Consolation, Couldabenthewhisky was given a 91 Beyer for his neck victory under Russell Baze in 1:13.75 for 6-½ furlongs. Runner-up Rocky’s Quest earned a career-high 90 and in three races since July 7, has earned figures of 88, 89 and 90. The 4-year-old Rockport Harbor gelding is a contender for the meet’s Top Claimer, considering he began the season with a $12,500 claiming win. Third-place finisher Hollywood Harbor has lost each of the last two Mile Consolations by a neck, last year to Davos, this year to Couldabenthewhisky and Rocky’s Quest.
Connections of Couldabenthewhisky and eighth-place finisher Jebrica said their horses are possible for the $40,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic on Sunday, Sept. 9. For Washington-breds at 1-1/16 miles, the Classic is the centerpiece of the six-race, $215,000 Washington Cup X.
Bailouttheminister finished fifth despite losing a shoe out of the starting gate, trainer Keith Nations said.
Jump Up and Kissme, the longest shot in the race at 61-to-1, missed the fifth-place check by a head, and the 4-year-old BC-bred is another pointed to the BC Premier’s Handicap.
Hudson Landing “looks good” after his ninth-place finish in The Mile, according to trainer Blaine Wright. “For whatever reason, the racing gods didn’t have our side on Sunday.” The 4-year-old is scheduled to ship to Golden Gate on Sunday, where Wright said he’d likely make his next start after a one-month freshener.
CLASS INCLUDED CAPS DOMINANT MEET IN STYLE
Without question Class Included now ranks among the handful of greatest fillies and mares to ever race at Emerald Downs. Her five-length victory Sunday in the $65,000 Emerald Distaff was the icing on a spectacular 2012 season that saw Class Included compile a 4-1-0 record with three stakes wins and earnings of $112,575 for trainer Jim Penney and owners Mike and Amy Feuerborn.
To the victors come the spoils, and Class Included is a lock to be voted Top Older Filly or Mare after a campaign in which she won races at 5-½ furlongs, six furlongs, one mile and 1-1/8 miles. Her only loss came when E Z Kitty was allowed a solo lead on a speed-favoring track in the Washington State Legislators Handicap, and Class Included settled for second place.
Said regular rider Juan Gutierrez of Class Included, “She’s a dream to ride. You can place her anywhere in a race, and she never makes a mistake.”
In the Emerald Distaff, Class Included ran 1-1/8 miles in a meet-fastest 1:47.78 and earned a career-high 87 Beyer. It was a dominant performance, and trainer Penney, assistant Kay Cooper and Mike Feuerborn are mulling options for their star filly.
The $100,000 Ballerina (G3-C) on Oct. 8 at Hastings Racecourse or the $250,000 Zenyatta (G1) on Sept. 29 at Santa Anita could be next, according to Feuerborn. Class Included was beaten a neck in the 1-1/8-mile Ballerina last year, while the 1-1/16-mile Zenyatta is designed as a prep race for the $2,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic on Nov. 2.
CARIBOO ROAD HEADS $20,000 SALES GRAD RACE
A field of eight 2-year-olds have a special opportunity on Saturday to earn some additional cash, as the WTBOA features a $20,000 allowance race restricted to runners that passed through the WTBOA sales ring (sold or RNA).
The six-furlong event, designed to reward owners for their participation in the WTBOA sales, goes as Race six on an eight-race card.
Still a maiden after two starts, Cariboo Road should be favored Saturday, considering the son of Cahill Road has contended well with some of the track’s top juveniles this season. Cariboo Road comes off a third-place finish in the July 29 Premio Esmeralda after leading nearly half the race until giving way to eventual winner Mike Man’s Gold, who repeated last week to win the WTBOA Lads Stakes. Trainer Dan Markle said Cariboo Road is ready for another big try.
“He’s in real good shape,” Markle said. “We’ll be leading out a loaded gun.
“I don’t think he needs the lead to win, either. He’s got really good reflexes, so he should come away in good order.”
Markle, who purchased Cariboo Road for $8,500 in the 2011 Washington Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale last September for owners Glyn Kelly and Anne MacLennan, said the colt looked the part of racehorse from the very start.
“We thought he was a real, good looking colt,” Markle said. “Nobody else seemed to really want him, so we just went after him.
“Now that we’ve got him, we can tell he’s a real class act. He doesn’t even act like a 2-year-old.”
The WTBOA Sales Incentive Program also offers a $1,000 owner’s incentive to every 2-year-old sales graduate that breaks its maiden in a maiden special weight, allowance or stakes race at Emerald Downs.
NOTES: Week 19 honors: Jockey-Juan Gutierrez (25-11-4-3); Trainer-Jim Penney (11-4-1-2); Owner-North American Thoroughbred Horse Company (Glen Todd) (2-1-0-0); Groom-Jeremy Street (Penney); Washington Bred-Couldabenthewhisky (breeder Bar C Racing Stable, Melodie Bultena, Bill & Carol Ginger)* The top three finishers in the WTBOA Lads Stakes*Mike Man’s Gold, Music of My Soul, Finallygotabentley*all received 60 Beyers after 6-½ furlongs in 1:16.72*Mike Man’s Gold is probable for the $35,000 Dennis Dodge Stakes on Sunday, Sept. 9, owner Keith Swagerty said*Speaking of Wa Cup, trainer Tom Wenzel said Emerald Downs Derby winner Makors Finale is probable for the $35,000 Chinook Pass Stakes for 3-year-olds at one mile*Maud Star (a.k.a. Aspen) will be at Emerald Downs on Saturday to receive the Jockey Club Thoroughbred of the Year Award, given annually to a Thoroughbred that has excelled in a non-competitive career such as equine-assisted therapy or police work. A 23-year-old gelding, Aspen is a therapeutic riding horse at the Rainier Therapeutic Riding Center in Yelm, Wash., which provides therapeutic horsemanship lessons for wounded, active-duty and veteran members of the military. Aspen is the oldest horse in the program and has helped more than 26 riders overcome the wounds of war, including Post Traumatic Stress, brain injuries, anxiety disorders and other physical injuries*Emerald Downs Owner of the Week Glen Todd and Longacres Mile-winning jockey Mario Gutierrez are off to Edmonton this weekend as 4-year-old Commander and 3-year-old Devil in Disguise both seek fourth straight stakes wins at Northlands Park in the $50,000 Westerner Handicap and $200,000 Canadian Derby, respectively*Jockey of the Week Juan Gutierrez rode three winners Friday, four Saturday and three Sunday, and finished the week with a commanding 88-74 lead on Leslie Mawing in the rider standings. Gutierrez is on pace for a career-high 110 wins and his first Emerald Downs riding title*Veteran valet Vern Gibson had some win-power in his corner of the jockeys’ room Sunday. Gibson was valet for Russell Baze, David Flores and Mario Gutierrez, who between them have over 16,500 career wins, six Longacres Mile wins, this year’s Kentucky Derby victory and three Breeders’ Cup triumphs*Northern Indy, third in the 2011 Seattle Slew Handicap, is entered in Sunday’s $30,000 Humboldt County Marathon at 1-5/8 miles. One of Thoroughbred racing’s unique events, horses cross the finish line five times on Ferndale’s half-mile oval*With insufficient amount of runners entered, the $50,000 Barbara Shinpoch was not carded for Sunday’s lineup. The 2-year-old filly stakes race needed at least five runners to be eligible for the race program, according to Vice President Jack Hodge. The purse money will remain in the overnight purse account and used for other races*The final edition of Emerald AM takes place Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. on track level, starring the track’s all-time leading earner Wasserman, who is scheduled to arrive in the track paddock at approx. 10:30. The two-hour show, hosted by track announcer Robert Geller and media relations’ Jacob Pollowitz, features an inside look at the morning workouts of horses in training at Emerald Downs.
