Rockymstar held off betting favorite Tapadero for a 2-½-length victory Friday in the $9,350 TPS Snoqualmie Ridge Purse for 3-year-olds and up at Emerald Downs.
Ridden by Juan Gutierrez, Rockmystar led gate-to-wire in 1:14.94 for 6-½ furlongs and paid $16.40, $7 and $5.
Trained by Jim Penney for Homestretch Farm, Rockmystar is the 14th horse with four wins at the meet including Class Included, Kooky Saluki and Rockmystar from the Penney barn.
Rockmystar led through splits of :22.30, :44.50 and 1:08.67*easily fastest of the night*shook off Seven Torrents past mid-stretch and turned aside Tapadero for the victory.
A maiden when the meet began, Rockmystar is 4-0-0 in six starts this season with earnings of $19,322. The 4-year-old gelding is by Stephanotis out of Punxsatawney.
Tapadero, ridden by Rocco Bowen, rallied from fifth to finish second and paid $3.40 and $2.40. It was the third straight second for the 6-year-old gelding.
Seven Torrents, the 5-to-2 second choice ridden by William Antongeorgi, finished third and paid $3.20. Who’s Your Next Ex, Snow On the River and Chicks Dig Him completed the order of finish.
Gutierrez rode two winners on the seven-race card*the 32nd time in 76 days with at least two wins*and leads Leslie Mawing 105-88 in the jockeys’ standings.
NOTES: Bleu Tarp ($4.40) won the opener*a mixed race for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses*in a track record :45.78 for 870 yards. A 6-year-old Thoroughbred, Bleu Tarp was ridden by Eliska Kubinova for trainer Bill Tollett and owner Stephen Quilici*.Kubinova rode three winners on the card*two Thoroughbred, one Quarter Horse*to extend her single-season apprentice mark to 73 wins. Her victory on Mile Easy ($7.20) in the nightcap improved her record to a combined seven-for-13 with trainer Bonifacio Rayas*Frank Lucarelli and Tim McCanna both went winless and Lucarelli still leads McCanna 43-39 in the trainers’ standings. McCanna has only five more days to reel in Lucarelli and claim his 11th Emerald Downs training title*Howard Belvoir saddled Port Wakefield to a $32.80 upset in the fifth race and is third with 33 wins*Belvoir sends out all-time EmD earnings leader Wasserman ($558,088) in Saturday’s $14,800 feature race for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs. Rainier Ice, runner-up to Winning Machine in the Budweiser Handicap, is the 9-to-5 morning line favorite, with Seminole Brave second choice at 7-to-2*First post Saturday is 2 p.m.
