Snake Attack spoiled a possible brother-to-brother exacta Thursday rallying past the dueling siblings Chaching Pete and Highdleburg for a ¾-length victory in the $8,700 Ashbaugh Beal Purse at Emerald Downs.
With Juan Gutierrez aboard, Snake Attack ran six furlongs in 1 minute, 10.60 seconds on a fast track and paid $10.80, $5.60 and $3.40. Jim Penney is the trainer for Beth and Zach Correa of Kama’aina Thoroughbreds.
4-year-old Chaching Pete and 5-year-old Highdleburg pressed the pace early to help set opening fractions of :22.68, :45.71 and 1:10.60 with early leader Destiny’s Roar. At the stretch, the siblings by Petersburg, out of Vying High, were just a half-length apart but were unable to hold off Snake Attack. Chaching Pete, with Jennifer Whitaker in the irons, finished second and paid $4.40 and $3.00.
Highdleburg, with Gallyn Mitchell riding, was another 1-¼ lengths back and paid $2.60 to show.
Vaderator, Passion Lives Here, A K Racer and Destinys Roar completed the order of finish. Siberian Cocktail was a scratch.
Coming off a half-length victory on July 21, Snake Attack raced off the leaders from the inside and then rallied mid-stretch to catch Chaching Pete in the final yards.
“I think the key was to be patient on the backside and then ask him at the quarter-pole,” said Juan Gutierrez, who notched his fourth feature win in five days. “I sat behind the speed, and when I asked him at the quarter-pole, he really started to respond.”
Snake Attack won his eighth race in 22 tries at Emerald Downs and has compiled a career record of 9-2-5 in 27 starts. The Kentucky-bred by You and I gave Penney his 21st win at the meet.
NOTES: Owners Ivan & Delores Christianson of Shady Valley Ranch have won four consecutive races after their homebred Orange Sherbet ($3.20) captured the second race with a three-length victory. Orange Sherbet, trained by Doris Harwood, had finished second in each of her previous four races.
Jockey Leslie Mawing bagged his meet-leading eighth hat trick this season with victories aboard Orange Sherbet, Prince Giddyup ($4.00) and Tony’s Legacy ($3.40). Mawing leads Juan Gutierrez 78-to-67 in the Thoroughbred standings.
Frank Lucarelli notched his meet-leading eighth training double with Evelyn’s Danceband ($16.00) and Tony’s Legacy and moved into a two-way tie with Tim McCanna for second-place in the thoroughbred standings with 30 wins.
Former University of Washington head football coach Don James was in attendance. The “Dawgfather” James coached the Huskies from 1975-92, including the 1991 season when UW went 12-0 and won a share of the national championship.
Jennifer Whitaker picked up her third victory at the meet aboard Cat On Base ($3.80) in the fourth race. The track’s all-time winningest female rider is 3-for-6 since returning three weeks ago from a shoulder injury sustained before the season.
Due to lighting failure of 25 percent of the track’s light towers, live racing will continue Friday at 5:15 p.m., an hour earlier than the usual 6:15 p.m. start time to avoid darkness.
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