Horse Racing News is the source of thoroughbred racing information with horse racing odds, betting tips, racing picks, race results, and handicapping. Latest news and articles on top horse racing contenders, jockeys, trainers, three-year-olds, race tracks, and major stakes races such as the Triple Crown races: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes as well as the Breeders' Cup horse races.Breeders’ Cup Challenge: Longacres Mile Handicap at Emerald Downs August 17
Posted on Saturday, August 16th, 2008
The 73rd renewal of the $300,000 Longacres Mile Handicap (G3) at Emerald Downs will be contested by 12 race horses on August 17, Sunday, where the Longacres Mile winner will automatically be one of the Breeders’ Cup field for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on October 25 at Santa Anita Park.
Emerald Downs’s Longacres Mile Handicap field of horses with jockeys, weight and morning line odds in post position order:
Southern Africa under jockey Russell Baze carries 113 lbs. with morning line odds of 20-1- Tropic Storm under jockey Aaron Gryder, 118 lbs., 5-2
- Luhuk’s Dancer under jockey Kevin Radke, 115 lbs., 6-1
- Wasserman under jockey Jennifer Whitaker, 118 lbs., 5-1
- Schoolin You under jockey Gallyn Mitchell, 110 lbs., 30-1
- Diligent Prospect under jockey Kate Repp, 112 lbs., 20-1
- Nationhood under jockey Seth Martinez, 119 lbs., 6-1
- Flamethrowintexan under jockey Gary Baze, 116 lbs., 15-1
- Honour the West under jockey Leslie Mawing, 113 lbs., 20-1
- Assessment under jockey Juan Gutierrez, 113 lbs., 20-1
- True Metropolitan under jockey James McAleney, 122 lbs., 3-1
- Call On Carson under jockey Ricky Frazier, 115 lbs., 20-1
Thoroughbred horse racing commentator and historian Jon White says True Metropolitan and Tropic Storm will finish first and second–in that order–in Sunday’s Longacres Mile.
Nothing too fancy there, as those are also the top two choices on Rob Rao’s morning line at odds of 3-1 and 5-2, respectively.
For third place, however, White ventured out onto a limb and picked Flamethrowintexan, who will be making his first start since July 29, 2007, when he breaks from post eight under jockey Gary Baze.
Said White, “Flamethrowintexan is intriguing, and if he wins The Mile off a 385-day layoff, it would have to rank as one of the greatest training achievements in the history of the sport in Washington. And if there is a trainer who could pull off such a difficult feat it is Flamethrowintexan’s conditioner, Jim Penney, who has won The Mile a record five times.”
Penney knows it is asking a lot of Flametrhrowintexan, but said he wouldn’t ask a horse to do the impossible.
“That’s our feeling,” Penney said, “and the owners (Grasshopper Stable) were very good about it. It will make the race interesting.”
Let’s look at the positives:
Flamethrowintexan is a very good horse that has won 15 races and $806,017 during a fine 28-race career as a middle-distance performer in Florida, California, Texas, Illinois, Canada and Washington.
The 7-year-old Florida-bred is seven for 14 at Emerald Downs including a career-high 101 Beyer achieved while winning the 2006 Longacres Mile.
He has a long history of running big races off the bench.
“Tex” has been training up a storm at Emerald Downs, unleashing a string of bullet drills capped by five furlongs in a bullet 58 4/5 Tuesday morning.
As for the connections, they’re peerless. Nobody has won more Longacres Miles–a combined 10–than Jim Penney and jockey Gary Baze. In fact, both are synonymous with the race.
In other Longacres Mile developments:
Morning-line favorite Tropic Storm (11-4-3-2-$227,300) made a striking appearance in his first spin over the Emerald Downs oval, galloping shortly after 9 a.m.
Luhuk’s Dancer (16-5-1-4-$119,621) also galloped for the first time at Emerald Downs, and race horse trainer Ted West (father of trainer Ted H. West) said the B.C.-bred gelding shipped well from California and appears fond of the local oval.
Jockey Jennifer Whitaker, regular rider of Wasserman, was featured on Northwest Cable News and trainer Howard Belvoir was impressed by the jockey’s camera presence. “She looked like a movie star,” Belvoir said. “She might have a future in Hollywood.”
Flamethrowintexan is the all-time leading earner at Emerald Downs with $358,728. Wasserman, with a victory, would become No.1 with $423,734. Flamethrowintexan, meanwhile, with a victory would break Captain Condo’s record of $503,285 for money earned in races in Washington state.
The amazing Chinook Pass–29 years old–will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his victory in the 1983 Longacres Mile by visiting the winner’s circle after Sunday’s fourth race. The champion sprinter of 1983, Chinook Pass is the only Washington-bred to win an Eclipse Award.
Post-positions 8-thru-12 have been unproductive in route races this season at Emerald Downs. Runners from those stalls are a combined 7-of-124 at the meet, a lowly 5.6 percent. Post 8–3-62 (4.8), Post 9–1-34 (2.9), Post 10–2-23 (8.6), Post 11–0-4 (0.0), Post 12–1-1 (100).
Jockey Gary Baze (Flamethrowintexan) will be riding in his record 19th Longacres Mile, but his first since 2003.
The Longacres Mile Handicap is race 8 of 10 horse races in the August 17 Emerald Downs card. Longacres Mile Handicap post time is 5:30 pm.
Horse racing news edited from www.emeralddowns.com.
Tags: Assessment, Call On Carson, Diligent Prospect, Flamethrowintexan, Honour the West, Luhuk's Dancer, Nationhood, Schoolin You, Southern Africa, Tropic Storm, True Metropolitan, Wasserman
"Breeders’ Cup Challenge: Longacres Mile Handicap at Emerald Downs August 17" was posted on Saturday, August 16th, 2008 at 10:37 am and is filed under Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Race Tracks News, Stakes Races, USA Horse Racing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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