News from Washington Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Association

Whiskey Toast
Though rain marred the September 26 closing of the 15th season of racing at Emerald Downs, the connections of Couldabenthewhisky didn't seem to mind a bit, as the Bonnie Jenne-trained runner scored a five-length victory in the 73rd Gottstein Futurity..
It marked the second year in-a-row a Washington-bred son of Harbor the Gold ridden by Gallyn Mitchell has won the state's top juvenile feature. Mitchell is now the race's dominant rider with four wins to his credit.
Three-time stakes winner Couldabenthewhisky races for the partnership of Friendship Stables, Longshot Racing and Craig and Stanley Frederickson.
After traveling third behind betting favorite Winter Warlock and Seattle Sniper for the first six furlongs, Couldabenthewhisky took command nearing the three-sixteenth's pole and finished a handy winner in a time of 1:42.60 for the 1 1/16-mile feature. C and M Racing and Northwest Farms LLC's Seattle Sniper, a Kentucky-bred son of Strong Hope out of Emerald champion Taste the Passion, finished second, 1 1/4 lengths the better of R and R Warren LLC's Jebrica, a Washington-bred son of Liberty Gold out of Peaceful Wings, in the field of eight juveniles. Both Couldabenthewhisky and Jebrica were purchased out of the 2009 WTBOA sales program.
"When I asked him, he opened up five lengths like it was nothing," enthused Mitchell.
Bred by Pam and Neal Christopherson's Bar C Racing Stable Inc. in partnership with Melodie Bultena and Bill and Carol Ginger, Couldabenthewhisky has earned $91,602 and won four of his six starts - which tied the track record for most wins by a two-year-old.

2010 Emerald Leaders and Meet Honors
Jeff Harwood's homebred Noosa Beach was named horse of the meet, top older horse, top sprinter and top Washington-bred after winning a single-season record five stakes. The 2010 Longacres Mile (G3) winner also led his backstretch competitors in number of wins (six) and money earned ($225,930) during the track's 15th season. The four-year-old son of Harbor the Gold is the fourth consecutive Washington-bred to earn horse of the meet honors. His trainer and co-breeder Doris Harwood was voted top training achievement for the champion's development and the Mile was named race of the meet.
Nina L. Egbert's speedy seven-year-old Clair Annette, a Washington-bred daughter of Beau Genius, was named top older filly or mare after winning two stakes and finishing third in two others.
Among the sophomore crowd, Gary Hughes' Saratoga Boot, an Arkansas-bred son of Storm Boot who won the Emerald Downs Derby by 4 1/2 lengths, was named top male runner, and Michael and Amy Feuerborn's two-time stakes winner Sis's Sis, a Washington-bred daughter of Cahill Road, was named top distaffer.
Couldabenthewhisky took top juvenile male honors and Terry and Mary Lou Griffin and Tom and Melissa Wenzel's Washington-bred filly Lady Golightly, from the first Washington crop of Matty G, was named top two-year-old filly.
Top claimer honors went to California-bred Classielyte, a five-year-old gelding by Memo (Chi) who had a record of 5-1-0 from six starts.

Lindy Award winner
Gallyn Mitchell
(Duane Hamamura Photo)

Gallyn Mitchell, the track's leading rider by wins with 1,252 tallies, and the only jockey to ride at Emerald during all 15 seasons, was named the 2010 Lindy Award winner. The Lindy Award, named to honor longtime clerk of scales Lindy Aliment, has been presented annually since 1985. Members of the jockey's colony vote for a peer who they feel has accomplished much and shown sportsmanship during the current race meet.
Howard Belvoir was honored as the 2010 Martin Durkan Award winner. The award is presented annually by racing secretary Bret Anderson and his staff to "a trainer who exhibits leadership, cooperation, sportsmanship and excellence, on and off the track." Belvoir often ran over five horses a day earlier in the season to help fill races.

Durkan Award winner
Howard Belvoir

(Duane Hamamura Photo)

Though blanked the final weekend, trainer Tim McCanna earned his 10th training title after saddling 63 winner, including Emerald Derby winner Saratoga Boot. The Spokane native joins Ben Harris as only the second conditioner to win four consecutive training titles at a Western Washington track. Vann Belvoir finished second with 56 winners. Frank Lucarelli and Jim Penney tied in third with 47 winners each and there was another tie for fifth between Doris Harwood and Howard Belvoir, as each saddled 44 winners.

Leading trainer Tim McCanna and leading jockey Ricky Frazier (Duane Hamamura Photo)

Ricky Frazier, who was honored with the top riding achievement at the meet, took his fifth riding title at the Auburn oval after coming home first 114 times. Among those wins were 10 stakes, led by his Mile victory with Noosa Beach. Frazier has won a total of 844 races at Emerald. Juan M. Gutierrez finished second with 95 winners. Mitchell ranked third after winning with 79 mounts. Francisco Duran (75) and Kevin Krigger (66) rounded out the top five riders. Finishing in sixth place with 65 wins was apprentice Pedro Terrero, the regular rider of Lady Golightly.
Howard Belvoir was the leading owner by wins, with 17, after Gift Certificate won the first race on September 25. Ron Crockett Inc. finished second in the standings with 16 wins, including Rewritten's victory in the Washington Lottery Handicap. The Feuerborns finished in third place with 13 wins.
Among the sires, the late Tribunal leads with 30 winners during the meet. Recently deceased Cahill Road, Oregon leading sire Harbor the Gold and He's Top finished in a three-way tie for second with 25 winner apiece.

Other Emerald News
Gary Chumbley's homebred Snip N Dale won the first Quarter Horse race ever conducted at Emerald Downs when the five-year-old Oregon-bred gelding annexed the $12,400 Muckleshoot Trial Classic-John Deere Bonus Challenge on September 25. It was the 19th win in 26 starts for the Scott Raley trainee who was ridden by Joe Crispin. Snip N Dale ran the 350-yard race in 17.30 seconds.
Also on the Saturday card was the $5,100 Blue Mountain Championship, a starter allowance race for Thoroughbreds that had raced on the 2010 Blue Mountain circuit. The 5 1/2-furlong race was won by Pole Gate Ranch's Five Star Promise, who was ridden by Deborah Hoonan-Trujillo and is trained by Debbie Van Horne. The three-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Five Star Day defeated Elizabeth Lee's Air Pegasus by 1 1/4 lengths.
This year's five-race series Ashbaugh Beal (formerly Stanislaw Ashbaugh) Claiming Challenge races, all starter allowances, run on the Sunday closing card were won by the following horses: the $16,000 Sassie Jo Lassie at a mile went to Jeff Harwood's Feels Like Rain; the six-furlong Hit a Star, worth $12,000, was taken by John Coonan's Sheen Falls; the $12,000 Market Master, also a six furlongs, was won by Grasshopper Stables' Classielyte; John and Janene Maryanski and Riverbend Farm's Gavel won the $10,000 Bob Stories at a mile; the $10,000 1 1/16-mile Pretty Peggy Slew was annexed by Andy and Jeffrey Beal's Ohwhatablast; and the $16,000 Itstufftobegood, another mile outing, was won by Betty and the Boys' Emancipated.