For the Reporter
Rods Song drew off late and notched a 5¾-length victory in Friday’s $16,600 BetAmerica Purse for 3-year-old fillies at Emerald Downs.
Ridden by Isaias Enriquez, Rods Song ran six furlongs in 1:09.79 and paid $11.80, $7.40 and $5. Jeff Metz is the winning trainer for Bruce and Cass Maller’s Highlander Racing Stable LLC.
A Florida-bred by Rodman-Tranquil Song, Rods Song has two wins and a third in three starts at the meet, and returned a quick dividend for her new owners who claimed the filly for $15,000 last month.
Kiss My Lulu, ridden by Javier Matias, finished second and paid $8.20 and $4.20, while Pebble Beach, ridden by Leslie Mawing, rallied for third and paid $3.60.
Swiss Script, 3-2 betting favorite Copy Begone and Our Clementine completed the order of finish. Knife River was scratched earlier in the day.
Muckleshoot Gold Cup gets underway
Friday also was the opener of the three-day Muckleshoot Gold Cup, featuring 18 of the nation’s finest Indian Relay Racing teams from Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon.
Results form Friday’s three qualifying heats for Sunday’s championship race:
Heat 1: 1st-Carlson Relay (Blackfeet Nation, MT); 2nd-Old Elk Relay (Crow Nation, MT); 3rd-Rides A Pretty Horse (Crow Nation, MT)
Heat 2: 1st-Starr School (Blackfeet Nation, MT); 2nd-Little Badger (Blackfeet Nation, MT); 3rd-Marchand Relay (Colville Tribe, WA)
Heat 3: 1st-Grizzly Mountain (Colville Tribe, WA); 2nd-Pikuni Express (Blackfeet Nation, MT); 3rd-Mountain River (Nakota-White Clay, MT)
Indian Relay Racing continues Saturday with three more races:
Heat 1: 2:39 p.m. (between Emerald Downs’ races 1 & 2)
Heat 2: 4:11 p.m. (between Emerald Downs’ races 4 & 5)
Heat 3: 5:29 p.m. (between Emerald Downs’ races 6 & 7)
Notes
Jennifer Whitaker rode Kilauea ($32.20) to a gate-to-wire upset in Friday’s second race for owner/trainer Howard Belvoir. It was the first win of the meet and 458th at Emerald Downs for track’s all-time leading woman rider, who missed the first six weeks of the meet recovering from broken ribs and a liver injury. Whitaker has been up for all six of Kilauea’s career wins. … He’s All Heart ($12.40) became a multiple winner at age 10 with a gate-to-wire victory in Friday’s third race under Erick Lopez. Winner of the 2011 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic, He’s All Heart broke his maiden on May 22, 2009 and now has 13 career wins at Emerald Downs for owner/breeder Vic Cozzetti and Vic-Tory Stables IV. A Washington-bred by Private Gold, He’s All Heart has won seven routes and six sprints in a 57-race career. … Freedomofthehills, ridden by Jose Zunino, pulled off a $47 upset for 92-year-old owner/trainer Arturo Arboleda in Friday’s fourth race. Also in race four, Cat From Iraqwas declared a non-starter by the stewards, who ruled the 5-year-old gelding had an unfair start in the 5½-furlong race. … Owner Darrin Paul had a win and two third in the final three races, withSugarseeker and Pebble Beach finishing third in the fifth and sixth races and Dreamer S. ($3.60) rallying from the clouds to prevail in the nightcap. … Swiss Script, fourth in the feature, was claimed for $15,000 by Remmah Racing and trainer Frank Lucarelli. … In addition to nine Emerald Downs’ races and three Indian Relay Races, there also will be simulcast wagering on the 148th running of the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes. Post time for the first Emerald Downs race is 2 p.m., and there is a $2,014 carryover in the $0.20 Pick 7.
