For the Reporter
So Lucky will be heavily favored to cap a perfect season Sunday with a victory Sunday in the $65,000 Gottstein Futurity at Emerald Downs.
Undefeated in four starts with three easy stakes wins, So Lucky heads a field of eight 2-year-olds entered in the 1 1/16-mile Gottstein, the traditional closing day fixture as Emerald Downs caps its 70-day meet with an 11-race card at 2 p.m.
A Washington-bred colt by Coast Guard-Miss Pixie, So Lucky is 4-for-4 with earnings of $87,335, and a shoo-in for honors as the track’s Top 2-Year-Old Male. In fact, a strong showing Sunday and he could challenge O B Harbor and stable mate Barkley for Horse of the Meeting honors.
So Lucky is one of only three 2-year-olds in America with four wins and the others, Florida-breds Cajun Delta Dawn and Three Rules, are competing at Gulfstream Park and about 3,000 miles away from Auburn.
So Lucky has led at all 16 points of call to date, scoring by 4½ lengths in a gate to wire maiden victory and by 3, 5¼ and 9 lengths while leading gate to wire in the Emerald Express, WTBOA Lads Stakes and Washington Cup.
So Lucky’s main foe Sunday might be the distance. The Gottstein Futurity marks his first race around two turns, and also is 2½ furlongs farther than his wins in the WTBOA Lads and Washington Cup.
Trainer Howard Belvoir said the extra distance is noteworthy for So Lucky, but said all eight horses are in the same boat.
“I’ve been taking (So Lucky) two miles but an easy two miles (in the morning),” Belvoir said. “I’m trying to slow him down because he’s got a lot of speed, and as you know the key to running a route is to relax.
“He’s a pretty sensible colt so if anybody is going to do it it’ll be him. It’s very tough on 2-year-olds. You go six furlongs and you don’t even go six and a half and then you’re asked to go [a mile and a sixteenth.] It’s tough but that’s what the book says, so he’ll go.”
Belvoir is wrapping up one of his best seasons at Emerald Downs. He ranks fourth overall with 31 wins and first in stakes wins with seven – three each by Barkley and So Lucky and one by The Press.
Bowen, meanwhile, will be honored Sunday for his first Emerald Downs riding title. His 102 wins are 32 more than second place Leslie Mawing.
• The Gottstein Futurity goes as Race 8 at 5:12 p.m.
• Barbara Shinpoch Stakes winner Blazinbeauty is the lone filly entered. Twelve fillies have won the race including two (Smarty Deb & Talk to My Lawyer) at Emerald Downs.
The field for the $65,000 Gottstein Futurity for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles: Ask Not, Erick Lopez, 120 pounds; Blazinbeauty (f), Isaias Enriquez, 117; Sharkzilla, Leslie Mawing, 120; So Lucky, Rocco Bowen, 120; Mysterious Man, Juan Gutierrez, 120; Max the Kitty, Eswan Flores, 120; Mixo, Javier Matias, 120; Warspite, Jose Zunino, 120. (f) = filly
Barrett and Lopez receive special honors
Trainer Roddina Barrett and jockey Erick Lopez will be honored with special yearly awards Saturday at Emerald Downs.
Barrett was chosen the 2016 Martin Durkan Award, signifying leadership, cooperation, sportsmanship and excellence on and off the track. Barrett is the 42nd winner of the prestigious award, which is chosen by racing secretary Bret Anderson and his staff.erick-lopez
Lopez is the 2016 winner of the Lindy Award, for accomplishment and sportsmanship throughout the meeting. Named in honor of the late Lindy Aliment, the Lindy Award is voted on by the Emerald Downs’ jockey colony.
Barrett, who began training in 2009, has enjoyed her finest season at Emerald Downs. She easily won the Quarter Horse training title with eight wins and also has 13 Thoroughbred wins.
“This season has been a blast,” Barrett said. “I have an awesome crew. They deserve a lot of credit.”
Barrett will receive several awards this weekend. In addition to the Durkan, she will be honored as the meet’s leading Quarter Horse trainer, and 4-year-old filly Sorelli, trained by Barrett for owners Kelly Dougan and Tim Floyd, figures to be voted he meet’s Top Quarter Horse.
Lopez has enjoyed a solid first season at Emerald Downs. A third generation jockey, he enters closing week tied for fourth with 46 wins.
“I am so glad I came up here this year,” he said . “I love the track and I love the people. Everything is great here.”
After Emerald Downs closes Sunday, Lopez said he plans to ride in Albuquerque for two weeks and then spend the winter at Turf Paradise.
Barrett, meanwhile, will have stables at both Portland Meadows and Turf Paradise including several horses owned by John Parker.
Training title race down to the wire
The 2016 Leading Trainer honors will likely be determined last Sunday considering trainers Jeff Metz, Blaine Wright, Frank Lucarelli and Howard Belvoir are all separated by a total of six wins.
Three-time defending champion Metz currently holds a 37-to-36 advantage over Wright, who has led on-and-off throughout the meet with a dazzling 28 percent strike rate. Meanwhile, Lucarelli – a five-time title champion – at 33 wins and Belvoir at 31 wins have assembled strong meets and could threaten the top spot with a big weekend.
Fan Appreciation Day/Jersey Day on Sunday
The 20th Anniversary Season concludes this Sunday with Fan Appreciation Day/Jersey Day at Emerald Downs.
Fans can enjoy the track’s final day of live racing — including the $65,000 Gottstein Futurity — for only $1 per paid admission. Along with admission, parking, reserved seats, programs, select beverages, popcorn and ice cream are also on the $1 menu.
The track also offers other specials on food and drink items including $2.50 hot dogs, $3 grilled sausages, $3.75 16-ounce Domestic Beer and $4.25 16-ounce Micro/Import Draft Beer. In addition to these specials, fans can buy discounted items at The Gift Horse Sidewalk Sale, which is located outside The Gift Horse Souvenir Shop on Level 1.
Jersey Day kicks off for the first time on Sunday, meaning fans who wear their favorite team jersey or sweater on Sunday can sign up to enter and win prizes. Fans can sign up for the prize drawings at the Customer Service Center on Track Level, and the prizes will be drawn in the Winner’s Circle between races.
Finish line
A whopping 223 horses are entered closing weekend at Emerald Downs, and the season average stands at 7.45 horses per race. … Emerald Downs Derby winner Opportunistic can earn a $25,000 bonus (Cdn) with a victory in Saturday’s $150,000 British Columbia Derby at Hastings Racecourse. A field of nine is entered in the 1 1/8-mile Derby. … Brookys Star, runner-up to Princess Kennedy in the Washington Oaks, runs in Saturday’s $100,000 BC Oaks at Hastings Racecourse with Leslie Mawing the rider. … Star Student, eighth in the Longacres Mile, runs Saturday at Golden Gate in a $33,000 allowance race at six furlongs on synthetic. … Sunday offers mandatory payouts in both the $0.50 Pick 5 and $0.20 Pick 7 at Emerald Downs.
