Knight Raider joined exclusive company Sunday at Emerald Downs.
The Washington-bred daughter of Tribunal scored a 3-¾-length victory over Rewritten in the $60,000 Barbara Shinpoch Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. Knight Raider thus joined Smarty Deb (2007) as the only juvenile fillies to win three stakes in a season at Emerald Downs.
With Ricky Frazier riding at 119 lbs., Knight Raider ran one mile in 1:37 and paid $2.60, $2.20 and $2.10. Doris Harwood, setting record with her 17th win by a 2-year-old at the meeting, is the trainer and co-owner with Nina Hagen, Hollis Sturgeon, Delores Christiansen and Colleen Caufield. The victory in the Shinpoch was worth $29,700.
Knight Raider has won, in order, the 5-½ furlong Knights Choice Stakes by 13 lengths, the six-furlong Angie C Stakes by 6-¾ lengths and the one-mile Barbara Shinpoch Stakes by 3-¾ lengths. The dark bay filly, who amazingly began her career in maiden $12,500 company, has won four of five overall with earnings of $76,643.
Rewritten, the 7-1 second choice, finished with a strong rally for second place. Ridden by Javier Matias at 117 lbs., Rewritten paid $4.20 and $3.40. It was two lengths back to Miss Cygogne, Cassie Papineau riding at 116 lbs., and a $7 show payoff.
Knight Raider, however, was the star of the show, and proved she could get a distance of ground. Deftly rated by Frazier through fractions of :23 2/5, :47 and 1:11 3/5, Knight Raider had control of the race, but remained well within herself. She put away Eloika Lake turning for home, spurted five lengths clear
in mid-stretch, and had plenty in reserve to hold off Rewritten.
“We’ve worked her a few times, so we knew she could rate,” Frazier said. “I was able to loosen her up in the post parade because she was a little nervous. When she took a big breath I knew she was ready. The main thing I wanted to do in the first turn was to clear the other horses.
“I was just taking my time to get around the turn and the only horse I had to clear was Cassie (Papineau’s horse Miss Cygogne). I was trying to wait as long as I possibly could to ask her. I didn’t want to lose her speed because when she gets her speed going she awfully hard to catch.”
Like her 2-year-old male counterpart, Hollywood Harbor, Knight Raider has run the table in her division. She already is the fifth triple stakes winner at the meet, a group that includes Longacres Mile winner Assessment, Emerald Distaff winner Elusive Horizon, 3-year-old filly Ladyledue, and 2-year-olds Hollywood Harbor and Knight Raider.
NOTES: Remarkably, for the 10th time at the meet Frazier rode at least four winners and finished the 20th week with a 133-96 lead over Gallyn Mitchell in the jockeys’ standings. Frazier needs 25 wins in the final 16 days to break his own single-season record of 157 wins set in 2007. Frazier also leads with nine stakes wins in 2009….The trainers’ race is a different story as Harwood and eight-time champion Tim McCanna are locked in a heated battle for first. Icwhatyourlookinat ($8.60) won the nightcap to move McCanna into a 51-50 lead…Reminder there is no racing this Thursday. Racing resumes Friday at 6 p.m. and continues through Monday’s special Labor Day card, which features the $75,000 Emerald Derby for 3-year-olds.
