Kind of Naughty refuses to lose at Emerald Downs.
The 4-year-old filly proved that again Sunday when she turned aside all challengers for a three-quarter-length victory in the $22,575 allowance feature for older fillies and mares.
Under regular rider Isaias Enriquez, Kind of Naughty ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1 minute, 15.56 seconds on a sloppy track and paid $4.40, $2.80 and $2.40. Frank Lucarelli is the trainer for owners Chris Randall and Nick Rossi.
Kind of Naughty led through fractions of :22.30, :44.97 and 1:09.23, turning aside Lady Vivien from the outside and Royal Moses from the inside.
The victory was important on several fronts. Foremost among them, Kind of Naughty broke a 10-way tie to become the meet’s first Thoroughbred to win five races – and that could be crucial in voting for the meet’s Top Claimer.
A 4-year-old Kentucky-bred by Songandaprayer, Kind of Naughty is 5-1-0 in eight starts this meet, scoring twice in $25,000 claimers, once for a $20,000 tag, and most recently in a pair of allowance/optional claiming events.
Enriquez and Lucarelli, meanwhile, are involved in nip-and-tuck battles for the riding and training championships.
With only three days left in the meet, Enriquez trails defending champion Juan Gutierrez 96-95 in the jockeys’ race. Gutierrez was sidelined this with concussion symptoms, and his riding status for closing week is undecided.
Lucarelli, bidding for his third straight training title, will enter closing week tied with Jeff Metz for first in the trainers’ standings at 39-all.
Royal Moses, the 5-to-2 second choice ridden by Javier Matias, edged Lady Vivien for second and paid $3 and $2.20. Lady Vivien, ridden by David G. Lopez, finished third and paid $3.20 to show.
The Gang and I, She’s Stella Marie and I Am Revenge completed the order of finish. Stephanie Plum was scratched earlier in the day.
Notes
Trainer Roy Lumm and jockey Eliska Kubinova combined for victories with 5-year-old mare Lizzy Lass ($5.00) and 4-year-old gelding Fist Full of Green ($9.20), who rallied past betting favorite Edge Forward for the victory in race six… Debbie Hoonan also rode two winners, her second straight two-win day… Simba’s Sis ($17) defeated odds-on favorite See My Tail Lites in race seven for $40,000 claiming 2-year-old fillies. Trained by Bill Tollett, Simba’s Sis is 2-1-0 in six starts with earnings of $16,238… Trainer Alexandra Brenchley notched her first win of the meet as Milieux ($4) prevailed in the Sunday opener… The final week of live racing begins Friday with first post 6:45 p.m.
