With a thrilling victory in the 74th Longacres Mile (GIII) in the rear view window, Assessment could be ready for a new challenge at a different locale.

Sunday’s three-quarter-length triumph in 1 minute, 33-2/5 seconds automatically qualifies the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred for the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in November at Santa Anita. And unlike last year, when it would have cost $90,000 to supplement Wasserman into the Breeders’ Cup, Assessment is BC eligible, meaning trainer Howard Belvoir and owners Lou and Diane Tice won’t have to ante up their Mile winnings to enter the race.

“It’s still 75 days away,” Belvoir said of the Breeders’ Cup. “I thought Lou (Tice) would want to go for sure, but he said he’ll leave it up to me. It’s going to depend on how the horse is going and how the race is shaping up.”

Belvoir said Assessment (25-7-4-3-$355,980) came out of the race in good shape while fourth-place finisher Wasserman was feeling a bit tired.

“Assessment came out of it great, but Wassy’s pretty tired,” Belvoir said. “They always get more tired in defeat.”

Remarkably, Assessment and Wasserman have run in the same seven races this season with Assessment finishing ahead of Wasserman every time. In one of the best seasons in track history, Assessment has four wins, three seconds and $257,000 in earnings. The son of Jump Start seems a cinch to be voted Horse of the Meeting.

The good news for Wasserman is that Assessment is ineligible for the $50,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic on Sept. 13. Although winless this season, the 2008 Longacres Mile champion deserves kudos for showing up for every race, and his effort in Sunday’s Mile was commendable. The 7-year-old gelding was beaten only 1-¼ lengths, and the chart footnotes say, “Wasserman raced far wide through the second turn and finished with a steady rally.”

Wasserman earned $16,875 for finishing fourth and upped his Emerald Downs’ all-time earnings record to $471,787. Moreover, a first or second place finish in the Muckleshoot Tribal Classic would make Wasserman only the seventh Washington-bred to surpass a half-million in career earnings.

MILE ODDS & ENDS

In winning the $300,000 Longacres Mile, Assessment:

· Became the 19th different Kentucky-bred to win The Mile. Washington-breds rank second with 17 wins and California-breds third with 16.

· Ran the fourth fastest winning time in the history of The Mile—1:33 2/5.

· Became the fifth straight horse based at Emerald Downs to win The Mile (No Giveaway, 2005; Flamethrowintexan, 2006; The Great Face, 2007; Wasserman, 2008, Assessment, 2009)

· Became only the second horse and the first since 1935 to win The Mile from the No. 12 post-position. The 12-hole is now 2-for-28.

· Became the third straight horse to win The Mile who began the season with a victory in the opening night 5 ½-furlong allowance race. (The Great Face, 2007; Wasserman, 2008; Assessment, 2009).

· Became the sixth straight non-betting favorite to win The Mile (Adreamisborn, $10.80, 2004; No Giveaway, $122, 2005; Flamethrowintexan, $6.80, 2006; The Great Face, $13.40, 2007; Wasserman, $22.40, 2008; Assessment, $16.60, 2009)

· Howard Belvoir became the 10th trainer to win The Mile twice and only the fifth to win it in consecutive years.

· Belvoir saddled the 1st and 4th place finishers for the second straight year (2008: Wasserman 1st, Assessment 4th. 2009: Assessment 1st, Wasserman 4th)

· Gallyn Mitchell became the 12th jockey to win The Mile twice.

· Assessment earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure (2nd place Awesome Gem, 93, 3rd place Teide 92, 4th place Wasserman 91, 5th place Atta Boy Roy 91).

· Atta Boy Roy ran the fastest opening quarter (:21 4/5), half-mile (:44) and three-quarters (1:07 3/5) in race history.

SPOT-ON LONGACRES MILE MORNING LINE

The pressure was on, but once again Emerald Downs morning line maker Rob Rao nailed a nearly perfect morning line for the $300,000 Longacres Mile.

Rao made California invaders Awesome Gem and Sierra Sunset the 2-1 and 7-2 favorites on the morning line—which was exactly their closing odds. Second-place finisher Awesome Gem’s off odds were 2.40-1 while ninth-place finisher Sierra Sunset went off at 3.60-1.

Rao also correctly forecast that Assessment and Atta Boy Roy would be the top locals at the betting windows. He had Assessment at 6-1 on the line—the eventual winner went off at 7.30-1. And he had Atta Boy Roy at 8-1—the early leader went off at 8.20-1.

Fans wagered a single-race record $796,268 on the Longacres Mile, breaking the mark of $703,963 set in Sky Jack’s winning race in 2003. The total handle of $3,053,292 was the second largest in Emerald Downs history.

NOTES: As one would expect; Team Assessment swept the weekly honors: Trainer—Howard Belvoir; Jockey—Gallyn Mitchell; Owners—Lou & Diane Tice (Tice Ranch Stables LLC); Groom—Ramon Fernandez (Assessment)…Northwest Farms’ Elusive Horizon (14-8- 2- 1- $241,715) earned an 87 Beyer for her neck victory over Gadget Queen in Sunday’s $100,000 Emerald Distaff. The Elusive Quality filly is five-for-five around two turns and only the 13th horse to win five stakes races at Emerald Downs…Elusive Schemes and Tritium both earned 84 Beyers for their dead-heat victory in Sunday’s $30,000 Emirates Airline Mile Consolation Purse. They hit the wire in 1:34 2/5—a full second off Assessment’s winning time a race later in The Mile…Tritium, a 4-year-old Washington-bred by Cahill Road, has clicked at odds of 11-1 and 24-1 this season for trainer Bill Tollett and owner Ramer Holtan…Since being claimed for $25,000 last month by trainer Vann Belvoir, Elusive Schemes has finished second to Assessment in the Mt. Rainier Handicap and won the Mile consolation…Doris Harwood had her fifth training triple of the meeting Sunday—including the Distaff with Elusive Horizon—and moved ahead of Tim McCanna (46-45) in the standings. Harwood also leads with eight stakes wins…Ricky Frazier leads Mitchell 119-90 in the jockeys’ standings, but Mitchell is closing the gap in the purses category. Following a weekend that saw him ride five winners including Assessment in the $300,000 Longacres Mile and No Flies On Doodle in the $75,000 Washington Oaks, Mitchell zoomed to $1,032,799 in purses earnings. Frazier leads at $1,105,513.