News from Washington Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Association

Kristy Batie photo
Longshot Lady
All but one of the five two-year-old fillies contesting the $50,000 Barbara Shinpoch Stakes run on August 29 had been seen in the winner's circle this summer. The pro-tem leader of the division and .50-to-one race favorite, Carrabelle Harbor, was going for three in-a-row after winning the Northwest Stallion Knights Choice and Angie C. stakes by open margins. The lone non-winner in the group was Lady Golightly, who had placed in both her previous efforts, though had finished third by 13 lengths behind Kids Kooler in her most recent effort.
Stablemates Carrabelle Harbor and Kids Kooler were out of the gate first and dueled through opening fractions of :23.40, :46.40 and 1:12. Meanwhile, Lady Golightly and apprentice rider Pedro Terrero were content to stay just off the leaders in fourth place. The maiden filly then moved outside through the second turn to reach Kids Kooler, who had taken the lead from the favorite, with a sixteenth to run. Lady Golightly quickly drew off to defeat that rival by 3 1/2 lengths. Kids Kooler, a Kentucky-bred daughter of First Samurai-Bisbee's Prospect who races as a homebred for Northwest Farms LLC, finished 16 1/4 lengths in front of Oak Crest Farm LLC and Ernie and Diane Burgess's Wings of Pegasus, a Kentucky-bred filly by Include out of Bold Pegasus. Carrabelle Harbor finished another 1 1/4 lengths behind in fourth, but 15 lengths the better of Rossi Reserve in the widely strung-out field. Final race time in the mile event was 1:37.60.
It was the first stakes win for Terrero, who through the end of August had ridden 54 winners at the meet - the second highest total by an apprentice in Emerald history.
"The plan was to sit back, because I knew there would be some horses in the race with a lot of speed," said Terrero. "My filly was really relaxed on the backstretch. When I asked her to go at the three-eighths pole, I knew I had a lot of horse. I wasn't sure if I was going to catch the number one (Kids Kooler), because she looked fast up front. I am very happy to get my first stakes win here."
Lady Golightly, is from the first Washington crop of Grade 1 stakes winner Matty G and is out three-time Canadian stakes winner Lady Beverly, a daughter of Frosty the Snowman. After not obtaining her reserve at the 2009 WTBOA Summer Yearling Sale, Lady Golightly's breeders, Terry and Marylou Griffin, partnered with trainer Tom Wenzel and his wife Melissa to race the filly under Lady Golightly Racing. The dark bay Washington-bred filly boosted her earnings total to $29,600 with her convincing win. Wenzel also trained the third place finisher, Seattle Sniper, in the WTBOA Lads two races later.

Kristy Batie photo
A Whisky Double
After finishing fifth in the Premio Esmeralda, Couldabenthewhisky rebounded to win his second stakes, and third of four races, in the second half of the August 29 stakes doubleheader, the $50,000 WTBOA Lads Stakes.
Hayjax broke first out of the gate twice. Once before the start of the mile race, where fortunately the gate handler had kept a tight hold so the half-brother to 2003Washington horse of the year Taiaslew didn't get away, and during the official start. Hayjax and leading rider Ricky Frazier then commenced to lead the field for the first half mile with fractions of :23.60 and :47.60. Near the half-mile post Gallyn Mitchell-ridden Couldabenthewhisky began to make his bid. The gelded son of Harbor the Gold soon opened up a clear lead in the lane and then held off Warlock Stables, Horseplayers Racing Club HRC 032 and James Broussard's Winter Warlock - the Premio Esmeralda winner - to win the race by a half-length in a time of 1:38.80.
From the first crop of 2004 Washington horse of the year Demon Warlock and out of stakes winner Royal Snowflight, Winter Warlock finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of C & M Racing and Northwest Farms LLC's race favorite Seattle Sniper. A son of Strong Hope out of Emerald champion Taste the Passion, the Kentucky-bred Seattle Sniper has quite a legacy to fill at Emerald Downs as he is a half-brother to two other Emerald champion fillies - Shampoo and Smarty Deb.
"It was the first time I had ever ridden this colt, so I didn't know what to expect," commented Mitchell. Frazier had been aboard the Bonnie Jenne trainee in his last two outs but was committed to Hayjax. "I thought maybe he was a one-paced speed type, but he showed me today that he could relax. He was doing it so easily that I didn't want him to lose interest, but he pricked his ears at the half-mile post. He showed his toughness and just dug back in."
Bred by Pam and Neal Christopherson's Bar C Racing Stable, Melodie Bultena and Bill and Carol Ginger, the gelding was purchased for $5,500 at the 2009 WTBOA Summer Yearling Sale and races for Bonnie and Wally Jenne's Friendship Stables, Andy Maib's Longshot Racing and Craig and Stanley Frederickson for whom he has earned $49,373. He is the first foal out of the Horse Chestnut (SAf) mare Bahati, whose second foal, a yearling filly by Soft Gold (Brz), will be offered in the September 7 WTBOA sale.

Other Emerald News
Stakes winner and 2007 Emerald sprinter of the meet Westsideclyde, now eight, has been retired from racing after re-injuring an ankle on August 29. The son of Old Topper-Flying Lyon, by Captain Courageous, finishes his career with a record of 7-4-4 from 18 starts. The $144,239 earner raced for Linda Elledge and James Riedinger and has been trained in his last three starts by Martin Pimental. The late Craig Roberts trained "Clyde" when he finished in the top three in six consecutive stakes in 2008.
The final Saturday card (September 25) of the 15th Emerald meet, will feature the first Quarter Horse race to be run in track history. The $10,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Dash-John Deere Bonus Challenge is an open 350-yard event.

Peb Raffle

"The Peb Stars of the Turf 50th Anniversary Collector's Portfolio"

The Peb Stars of the Turf commemorative portfolio features 23 of the famed illustrator's newest works depicting some of the most widely recognized faces and horses of Thoroughbred racing's last 50 years.
The set of limited prints is available from the Daily Racing Form for $150, but what is unique about the set being raffled is EACH PRINT IS SIGNED BY PEB, making them an extremely valuable collector item!
Each full color 12 x 16 inch reproduction, printed on fine Strathmore Grande paper and suitable for framing, is enclosed in a high quality blue portfolio with "Peb" spelled in metallic silver lettering on the cover.
Among the list of works includes portraits of Eddie Arcaro and Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, Bob Baffert, Jerry Bailey, Steve Cauthen, Angel Cordero, Jr., Jean Cruguet and Seattle Slew, Pat Day, Bobby Frankel, Julie Krone, Bob and Beverly Lewis, D. Wayne Lukas, Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Edgar Prado, Jose Santos, Bill Shoemaker, Mike Smith, Gary Stevens, Ron Turcotte and Secretariat, and Marylou Whitney.

Proceeds to benefit the Scholarship Fund and Backstretch Daycare Learning Center. $10 minimum donation per ticket. Where you can buy a chance to own a bit of racing history:

WHBPA Office, MaryAnn O'Connell, 253-804-6822. Please send a check to PEB DRAWING/ WHBPA, 3702 W Valley Hwy #210, Auburn, WA 98001 by September 24. Include all your contact information and number of tickets requested.
Horsemen's Bookkeeper, Jan Baze, 253-288-7760.
Monday, September 6, Emerald Downs. Look for the Backstretch ClubHouse Booth near the Margarita Stand!
Tuesday, September 7, WTBOA Yearling and Mixed Sale. Raffle Tickets will be available at several locations throughout the sale.

Other News

Silly Fella, the two-year-old Mass Market colt who finished second in the $47,156 CTHS Sales Stakes run at Hastings Racecourse on August 25, is out of Grey Tobe Free, a stakes-winning daughter of Lucky Acres' Free At Last. In the filly division of the CTHS Sales Stakes, Victorious Vye, the three-year-old daughter of Vying Victor who ran third, is out of Lightning Stitch, a mare by Country Light who is also the dam of Washington-bred stakes winners Northwest Attitude and Light My Ducks. The following day, Nuj Nuj Wink Wink, a two-year-old filly by Finality out of the Free at Last mare Wicca, finished third in the $48,960 Lassie Stakes at the British Columbia track.
Two Washington-breds added allowance victories to their r�sum�s on August 28 at Golden Gate Fields. In the first race, Jack and Ivor Jones' multiple stakes-placed filly Point of Reference took a 1 1/16-mile allowance/$50,000 optional claiming race on the turf. The four-year-old daughter of Benchmark-It's Stevie's Time, by Quiet American, who is trained by Frank Lucarelli, improved her record to 5-4-5 from 17 starts and has earned $162,001. Three-year-old Summer Excess won the eighth race, a six-furlong allowance, for his breeders Helen Sherry and Billie Klokstad. The Bud Klokstad-trained son of Private Gold-Summer Sails, by In Excess (Ire), has won three of his four starts, with one second, and earned $47,100.
John Carver, Halo Farms, Dr. George Todaro and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's Grade 2 stakes winner Dakota Phone, a five-year-old gelded son of Zavata-World of Gold, by Spinning World, finished third in the $1-million Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) at Del Mar on August 28, beaten 1 1/4 lengths by winner Richard's Kid. Kentucky-bred Dakota Phone, who earned $120,000 in the 12-furlong race, has now accumulated $703,810.
Stormy Seattle, who ran third in the $20,000 Mile-Hi Handicap at Yavapai Downs on August 29, was produced out of the Slewdledo mare She'sgotthekey.
Hawaiian Sky, a six-year-old offspring of Gibson Thoroughbred Farm's Parker's Storm Cat, improved her record to 7-10-6 from 33 starts after she won a six-furlong, allowance/$30,000 optional claiming race at Hoosier Park for owner Maggi Moss on September 3. The Maryland-bred mare out of Abovehawaii, by Great Above.
Dynaslew, the four-year-old daughter of Dynaformer who won the Ballston Spa Handicap (G2) at Saratoga on August 28 for her breeder Live Oak Plantation, is out of $358,567 stakes winner Slew's Final Answer, a daughter of Seattle Slew bred by Theiline Scheumann's Grousemont Farm. The filly now sports a record of 5-4-0 in 13 starts and has earned $356,852.
.After finishing third in her first outing, at Arlington Park, Mark Dedomenico's two-year-old colt Theresmyeverything, a New York-bred son of Star Dabbler-Birdie Babe, by Way West (Fr), won a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight over Saratoga's turf course on September 2.
Two-year-old Stolen Sagoi, a filly bred in Washington by Laura Pedro, won her first start, a four-furlong allowance race at Grande Prairie on August 20, by five lengths. The new winner is a daughter of Pulse Ranches' Stolen Gold and is out of Sagoi, by Twining.
On the August 27, at Assiniboia Downs, five-year-old Queen Tina ran third in the $47,315 Distaff Stakes. The daughter f Boaneges is out of Story Book Queen, by Old Stories.