Mach One Rules and Blaine Wright played starring roles Sunday as Emerald Downs presented the $300,000 Washington Cup – a series of six stakes races for state-bred runners.<\/p>\n
Mach One Rules took another step toward 2017 Horse of the Meeting honors by gutting out a 1¼-length victory over Dedicated to You in the $50,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic for 3-year-olds and up.<\/p>\n
And Wright became the first trainer in track history to win three stakes in a single day – scoring with Bella Mia in the Washington Cup Juvenile Filly, Pulpits Power in the Washington Cup Sophomore, and Exit Sixty Slew in the Washington Cup Filly and Mare.<\/p>\n
Six times previously a trainer had won two stakes in a day at Emerald Downs, most recently Howard Belvoir in 2016, but Wright is the first to win three in a day.<\/p>\n
Mach One Rules, meanwhile, capped a sensational season with a hard-earned victory in the Muckleshoot Tribal Classic, overtaking front-runner Dedicated to You past mid-stretch and edging clear for the victory.<\/p>\n
Mach One Rules ran 1 1\/16 miles in 1:42.21 and paid $3.80 as the betting favorite. Frank Lucarelli is the winning trainer for REV Racing.<\/p>\n
A 4-year-old Washington-bred gelding by Harbor the Gold-Felice the Cat, Mach One Rules is 7-7-2 in 17 career starts – including six Emerald Downs’ stakes wins – and has career earnings of $276,381.<\/p>\n
Mach One Rules is 3-2-1 in six starts this season with a meet-high $135,250 in earnings, including $27,025 for Sunday’s win. He recorded three stakes wins – Budweiser, Mount Rainer, Muckleshoot Tribal Classic – to go with seconds in the Longacres Mile and Governor’s Stakes.<\/p>\n
“He’s had a great year, I couldn’t be happier with Mach One Rules,” Lucarelli said.<\/p>\n
Lucarelli and owner Roy Schaefer also credited Enriquez with helping the horse to peak this season.<\/p>\n
“With horses, you have to get along with them and put a little psychology into it,” Enriquez said. “I love riding this horse, we get along great.”<\/p>\n
Dedicated to You, third in the Longacres Mile, ran another solid race to finish second, holding off Mike Man’s Gold by a head for the $9,460 runner-up check.<\/p>\n
Mike Man’s Gold had his four-race win streak snapped while finishing third, and The Press and Hit the Beach completed the order of finish.<\/p>\n
Rocco Bowen, rider of Mike Man’s Gold, claimed foul against the winner for alleged interference on the backstretch. The stewards, however, made no change in the order of finish.<\/p>\n
Bar C Racing Stables bred Mach One Rules.<\/p>\n
Exit Sixty Slew surprises Citizen Kitty<\/strong><\/p>\n Amazingly, two of Wright’s three stakes wins Sunday were by horses he claimed this meeting.<\/p>\n Exit Sixty Slew, tagged for $20,000 on June 3 by Wright, Below The Rim Stable and Mediocre Racing, has two wins and third for his new connections, including Sunday’s 3½-length victory over Citizen Kitty in the $50,000 Washington Cup Filly and Mare.<\/p>\n Ridden by Rocco Bowen, Exit Sixty Slew overtook My My Heart Goes On at the five-sixteenths pole, opened a three-length lead into the stretch, and finished the mile and one-sixteenth in 1:43.05.<\/p>\n Second choice in the wagering, Exit Sixty Slew paid $10.60 to win.<\/p>\n A 4-year-old Washington-bred by Abraaj-Slew Tunes, Exit Sixty Slew has an overall mark of 7-3-4 in 20 starts with earnings of $92,928. Sunday’s win was worth $27,025.<\/p>\n Citizen Kitty, bidding for a meet-leading fourth stakes win, settled for second place Sunday. The 1-to-5 betting favorite, Citizen Kitty accounted for $182,226 of $205,850 in the show pool.<\/p>\n My Heart Goes On held third, followed by Dreamer S. and Sugarseeker.<\/p>\n Nina Hagen and Holly Sturgeon-bred Exity Sixty Slew.<\/p>\n Sippin Fire scores impressively in Juvenile Colts<\/strong><\/p>\n Sippin Fire exploded through the stretch and drew clear for a 5½-length victory over Elliott Bay in the $50,000 Washington Cup Juvenile Colts and Geldings Stakes.<\/p>\n With Rocco Bowen aboard for trainer Steve Bullock, Sippin Fire ran six furlongs in 1:09.47 – nearly a full second faster than Bella Mia’s winning time in the Juvenile Fillies.<\/p>\n Sippin Fire, a narrow betting favorite, paid $5 to win.<\/p>\n The victory turned the tables on Elliott Bay, who defeated Sippin Fire in a roughly-run WTBOA Lads Stakes three weeks ago. In that one, Elliott Bay prevailed by three-quarters of a length and then withstood a stewards’ inquiry for the victory.<\/p>\n There was no such drama Sunday. In fifth place on the turn, Sippin Fire rallied wide into the lane and unleashed a wicked final furlong to win going away.<\/p>\n “He finally got a chance to run. He’d been in some traffic problems the last couple of races,” Bullock said.<\/p>\n By Harbor the Gold-Bahati, Sippin Fire is 2-1-0 in four starts with earnings of $47,888 for How We Roll #4. The Washington Cup was his first stakes victory, and in a bit of irony his older brothers – Couldabenthewhisky and Del Rio Harbor – were state champions as 2-year-olds but they both lost in the Washington Cup.<\/p>\n Elliott Bay held second – giving sire Harbor the Gold the top two finishers – while Trump Itz, Prime Copy, Boundary, Bay, Wheel Rally, Brown Tiger, Stay in Power and Dylan J.T. completed the order of finish.<\/p>\n Bar C Racing Stables and Desert Rose Racing are the winning breeders.<\/p>\n Bella Mia prevails in juvenile Filly Stakes<\/strong><\/p>\n John and Janene Maryanskis Bella Mia became a triple stakes winner at the meet, racing to a one-length victory over Frisky Bear in the $50,000 Washington Cup Juvenile Filly Stakes.<\/p>\n Ridden by Julien Couton and trained by Wright, Bella Mia ran six furlongs in 1:10.44, and paid $2.40 as an overwhelming favorite. In Fact, Bella Mia accounted for $115,232 of a $129,323 show pool.<\/p>\n Bella Mia set fractions of :22.18, :45.45 and :57.69, and was able to hold off a strong challenge by Frisky Bear through the lane for the victory. Faith Flys Again finished third, followed by A Filly Can Dream Manny’s Way, Goldie’s Darlins and Goose Prairie.<\/p>\n Bella Mia has reeled off victories in the Angie C Stakes, Barbara Shinpoch Stakes and the Washington Cup, and has an overall mark of 4-0-0 in five starts with earnings of $91,013.<\/p>\n With the victory, Bella Mia tied the track record for most wins in a season by a 2-year-old at Emerald Downs. A bay filly by Harbor the Gold-Bella Campana, Mr. And Mrs. William T. Griffin bred the winner.<\/p>\n Grace Bay romps in Sophomore Filly Stakes<\/strong><\/p>\n Grace Bay – only one week removed from her maiden victory – swooped past stable mate Targa into the stretch and drew clear for a 8¼-length victory in the $50,000 Washington Cup Sophomore Filly Stakes.<\/p>\n Ridden by Kevin Orozco and trained by Frank Lucarelli, Grace Bay ran one mile in 1:36.87 and paid $10.60 as fourth choice in the wagering.<\/p>\n A bay filly by Coast Guard-Moscow Symphony, Grace Bay earned $26,180 for owner Billy Speed Racing Stables and is 2-1-3 in 10 lifetime starts with $53,642 in earnings.<\/p>\n It took Grace Bay nine tries to break her maiden, but she wasted no time in defeating winners. She defeated straight maidens by 5¼ lengths last week, and wheeled back in seven days to overpower stakes foes. She stalked Targa through six furlongs in 1:10.93, took command into the lane and widened her advantage through the stretch.<\/p>\n Targa, a 17-to-1 long shot ridden by Eswan Flores, held second to give trainer Frank Lucarelli a one-two finish in the race. It was a sensational effort by the Atta Boy Roy filly, who had never raced farther than six furlongs in eight previous starts.<\/p>\n Retreat Yourself, the 6-to-5 favorite, finished third and was followed by No Talking Back, Miss Wine Topper and I Double Dare You.<\/p>\n Ron and Nina Hagen are the winning breeders.<\/p>\n Pulpits Power prevails in Sophomore Stakes<\/strong><\/p>\n Pulpits Power wore down a resilient Keller’s Gold and edged clear for a 1½ -length triumph in the $50,000 Washington Cup Sophomore Stakes.<\/p>\n With Couton and Wright combining for their second Washington Cup victory Sunday, Pulpits Power ran one mile in 1:37.14 and paid $9.60 as third choice in the wagering.<\/p>\n Claimed for $15,000 on Aug. 13, Pulpits Power earned a quick $25,510 for owners Below the Rim and Woodway Stable. By War Power-Parker’s Jewel, Pulpits Power is 2-3-3 in nine starts with overall earnings of $44,082.<\/p>\n Pulpits Power was caught behind horses turning for home, angled out into the stretch and dueled with Keller’s Gold in a great two-horse stretch battle.<\/p>\n “(Pulpits Power) has a great big stride, I was impressed with him today,” Couton said.<\/p>\n Keller’s Gold, ridden by Javier Matias, paid $4.20 and $3. The consistent Liberty Gold gelding is 6-4-0 in 13 career starts with $75,884 in earnings.<\/p>\n Kota Copy finished third but was disqualified and placed fifth for interference into the stretch, and Rifle Gernade was promoted from fourth to third.<\/p>\n Mr. And Mrs. Elwin Gibson bred Pulpits Power.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n Three-time Washington Cup winner Stryker Phd was officially retired Sunday between the third and fourth races. Winner of the 2014 and 2015 Longacres Mile, Stryker Phd is a three-time Washington Horse of the Year and earned $631,011 in a 33-race career that included nine stakes wins at Emerald Downs. With “The Final Countdown” playing over the PA system, the 8-year-old gelding took one final walk through the paddock and down the home stretch. … Harbor the Gold’s three stakes wins Sunday increase his season total to eight, and his all-time Emerald Downs’ total to 55. … Rocco Bowen rode four winners on the 11-race card, boosting his season total to 107 wins. … Wright’s three wins give him 47 this season; he won last year’s title with 39 wins. … In addition to Wright, Lucarelli, Bowen and Couton, breeders Bar C Racing and Nina Hagen had multiple Washington Cup wins. … In addition to Sunday’s three stakes wins, Wright also saddled the feature race winner on Friday (Kiss My Lulu) and Saturday (Oh Marvelous Me). … Monydontspenitself, fourth in the Emerald Downs Derby, prevailed as the 1-to-5 favorite in Sunday’s $21,000 allowance race for 3-year-olds. Ridden by Javier Matias for Kay Cooper and Where We At, Monydontspenitself ($2.40) ram six furlongs in 1:09.46. … Live racing resumes Friday with first post 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mach One Rules and Blaine Wright played starring roles Sunday as Emerald Downs presented the $300,000 Washington Cup – a series of six stakes races for state-bred runners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":30126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-30125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30125"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30125"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=30125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}