Port Wakefield won a stretch-long battle with Ducoti and scored a half-length victory in the Ashbaugh Beal Challenge Purse for older fillies and mares Friday at Emerald Downs.
The longest price on the board, Port Wakefield ran six furlongs in 1:10.53 and paid $28.20, $12.20 and $4.80. Jennifer Whitaker rode the winner for owner/trainer/breeder Howard Belvoir.
Ducoti, the 2-to-1 second choice ridden by Juan Gutierrez, held second and paid $4 and $2.80. The 6-year-old mare led through fractions of :22.26, :45.39 and :57.61, but was unable to hold off Port Wakefield in the stretch.
Lady Rochelle, a newcomer to Emerald Downs ridden by Anne Sanguinetti, finished third and paid $2.80. Bartab, 2-to-1 favorite Way to Go Lo, Seattle Game and Pretty Darn Good completed the order of finish.
A 4-year-old Washington-bred by Katowice-Ice and Vice, Port Wakefield is 6-0-1 in 14 starts lifetime with earnings of $23,522. The dark bay or brown filly has a history of winning at big odds*her winning prices are $22, $7, $32.60, $14.40, $15.80 and $28.20.
For Belvoir, No. 3 all-time with 617 wins at Emerald Downs, it was his first win since last Saturday’s induction to the Washington Racing Hall of Fame.
Port Wakefield was one of five double-digit payoffs on the seven-race card. As a result, there is a carryover of $6,120 to Saturday’s $0.50 Pick 5.
NOTES: Gutierrez rode three winners and tied Isaias Enriquez 80-80 atop the jockeys’ standings. It was the sixth three-win day at the meet for the defending riding champion*Jockey Michael Iammarino rode a winner in his first night at Emerald Downs, guiding Evil Urges to a $27.40 upset for trainer Larry Pierce in race four. Iammarino has 1,610 career wins and rode 26 winners at the 2012-13 Turf Paradise meet*The fourth race was one of the biggest longshot races of the meet as Tahoe’s Prize finished second at 34-to-1 and paid a meet-high $33.20 to place, and Laachem finished third at 48-to-1 and paid a meet-high $21.80 for show. A $1 trifecta on 3-4-1 paid a season-high $2,921.40*Trainer Tim McCanna nearly won races at two different California tracks, as Evie Jo ($7.20)*owned by Emerald Downs’ back-up track announcer Dean Mazzuca *won race three at Golden Gate Fields, and Ruby Pumps finished third in race three at Del Mar for $50,000 claiming fillies and mares. Also at Golden Gate, Washington-bred filly Special Summer, also trained by McCanna, finished second in a $29,000 allowance for 3-year-old fillies*Live racing continues Saturday with first post 2:15 p.m.
