Dream Sweeper, the longest shot in the race, wore down No Flies On Doodle and scored a 1 ½-length victory Sunday in the $21,000 Industry Sign and Graphics Purse for fillies and mares at Emerald Downs.
With Leslie Mawing riding his third winner of the day and seventh of the week, Dream Sweeper ran 5 ½ furlongs in 1:03 .19 and paid $35, $8.20 and $4.40. Chris Stenslie is the trainer for Dr. Rodney Orr.
No Flies On Doodle, winner of four stakes at Emerald Downs, rebounded well with a good effort at her favorite racetrack and finished second. The 5-year-old mare is 7-3-0 in 11 starts at Emerald Downs, including two stakes wins in both 2009 and 2010.
Ridden by Javier Matias, No Flies On Doodle paid $4 and $2.40.
Sis’s Sis, the track’s Top 3-Year-Old Filly last year, finished a non-threatening third in her 2011 debut. Ridden by Juan Gutierrez, the 1-1 betting favorite paid $2.10.
Carrabelle Harbor and Lilly’s a Jewel completed the order of finish.
A double-winner as a 3-year-old at Emerald Downs in 2009, Dream Sweeper struggled in four races last year in California, including starts at Golden Gate Fields, Santa Rosa and Fresno. Transferred to Stenslie and shipped back to Washington, Dream Sweeper apparently prefers the cooler weather, as Sunday she unleashed a powerful inside rally to score the victory. Last early, she progressed steadily on the rail and finally collared No Flies On Doodle in the final yards.
“The plan was to come from off the pace because we knew there were three speed horses in the race,” Mawing said. “Chris (Stenslie) told me that she was training well, and I trust Chris because she is a great trainer.
“I had to get after my horse a little bit in the stretch, but then she really responded. I’m hoping that she keeps improving because she’s a pretty nice horse.”
A 5-year-old Kentucky-bred by Salt Lake-Turbo Dream, Dream Sweeper is 3-0-1 in 10 starts overall with earnings of $35,252.
Mawing already has three three-win days and finished week with a 15-13 lead over Joe Crispin in the jockeys’ standings.
DON’T YA LOVETT BECOMES OLDEST WINNER
A New Zealand-bred making her first star at Emerald Downs became the oldest horse to win a race at Emerald Downs. Don’t Ya Lovett, a 12-year-old mare ridden by Robert Skelly, scored a neck decision over Best Verse in the fifth race, a $3,500 claimer at one mile.
Don’t Ya Lovett paid $7.80 as the second choice in the wagering.
Trained by Charles Essex for Woodway Stable, Don’t Ya Lovett began her career Oct. 17, 2002 with a 13th-place finish at Otaki, New Zealand. The daughter of Lord Ballina won nine races in her native country, including several handicaps, before coming to America in 2007.
Her best race in the United States was a fourth in the Grade 3 San Simeon Handicap on the turf at Santa Anita in 2008, but she had tailed off and eventually made her way to Arizona where she won two one-mile claiming events this spring.
West Seattle Boy, who set a record last year while winning three races as an 11-year-old, struggled a bit in his yearly debut later in the card. The track’s all-time leader with 18 wins finished seventh in the race won by Tritium ($4.20). In recent seasons, however, West Seattle Boy usually improves in his second race off a layoff.
NOTES: In the $18,900 co-feature, Bogachiel ($11.60) turned in a strong performance to defeat Hollywood Harbor by a neck in 1:02.41 for 5 ½ furlongs. It also marked a good comeback for Hollywood Harbor, the champion Juvenile Male of 2009, who was easily second best in his first race in over a year…Trainer Charles Essex and jockey Robert Skelly combined to win two races on the card, scoring with All the Rage ($7.40) in the third and Don’t Ya Lovett in the fifth…Congratulations to owner Lorna Brown as her 5-year-old gelding Silver Mench ($9.20) came off the bench to score in the finale. A triple winner last year at Emerald Downs, Silver Mench is 5-for-14 lifetime at Emerald Downs…Tim McCanna leads Howard Belvoir 9-7 in the trainers’ standings… Atta Boy Roy ended a three-race skid with a 1-½ length victory Sunday in a $17,200 allowance race at Turf Paradise. Atta Boy Roy ran six furlongs in 1:08.55 under Vicky Baze and paid $2.40 for his first victory since last August. The 6-year-old ridgling is 11-of-25 lifetime, and Sunday’s victory vaulted Atta Boy Roy past Chinook Pass into eighth place on the state’s all-time earning list with $490,016…Live racing resumes Friday with first post at 6 p.m. Emerald Downs is open for simulcast wagering Wednesday through Sunday, and the Quarter Chute Café offers simulcast wagering Monday and Tuesday.
