Miss Fast Dancer was up to her old tricks in Saturday’s feature race for older fillies and mares at Emerald Downs.
The mare sprinted to a long early lead and held off the closers for a three-quarter-length victory in the Emirates Airline Purse. With Troy Stillwell in the irons, Miss Fast Dancer ran six furlongs in 1 minute, 9 4/5 seconds and paid $7, $4 and $3. Charlie Essex is the trainer for owners Dean Essex and Justin Stillwell.
K Lea Road, ridden by Jose Zunino, rallied inside to finish second and paid $6 and $3.80. All the Rage, Javier Matias riding, was a head back in third and paid $3.60. The latter broke slow, raced far wide though the turn and made a bold rally in the lane.
However, the day belonged to Miss Fast Dancer. The 6-year-old Kentucky-bred broke sharply from the rail, opened a clear lead through fractions of 22 1/5 and 45, kicked two lengths clear into the stretch and held sway to the wire. She is 9-for-23 at Emerald Downs and 10-for-37 overall with earnings of $94,368.
Stilwell, with 10 wins, is among seven riders concentrated between 10-13 wins at the top of the standings. He celebrated his 44th birthday Saturday and continues a tremendous resurgence after a long retirement.
News and Notes
• Ricky Frazier was excused from his final six mounts with a sore hip, according to presiding steward Ken Doll.
• Vic Cozzetti’s Vic-Tory Stables made it two wins in two days as Highdleburg ($13) sprang a mild upset in the fifth. The gelding’s trainer, Larry Wolf, also won the nightcap with Jazzoom ($24.40) and has three wins in the last two days.
• Anne Von Rosen and Mike Chambers are 2-for-2 at the meet as Rabella ($3.20) prevailed narrowly over Amber O in the sixth .
• Teide ($7.20) continued the parade of winners from the 2009 Longacres Mile with a spectacular victory in the $50,000 George Royal Stakes at Hastings Racecourse. Ridden by Chad Hoverson, the 6-year-old ran 6-½ furlongs in 1:15 1/5, just one tick off the track record.
• Seeking Ema hit the board for the ninth time in 11 starts with a third-place finish in the third race. The 4-year-old maiden earned $2,550 to bump her earnings $45,592…Trainer Bill Tollett saddled the winners of both halves of the early double—Pepe Le Feu ($4.80) and Bleu Tarp ($4.20)—and is 8-for-13 at the meet.
• The entry-box was overflowing with 68 horses entered for Friday, May 14, an average of 9.71 runners per race on the seven-race card.
• Week 5 wraps up Sunday with a 10-race card at 2 p.m. The marquee event—the $50,000 Federal Way Handicap for 3-year-old fillies—features 2-1 morning line favorite Knight Raider vs. Include the Baby (5-2), Feeling Fancy (3-1) and six others.
