Mr. Mad Max, last into the stretch, rallied strongly for a one-length victory Friday in the $9,300 Pepsi Purse for 3 year olds and up at Emerald Downs.
With a perfectly timed ride by Deborah Hoonan-Trujillo, Mr. Mad Max ran one mile in 1:37.22 on a fast track and paid $4.60, $2.60 and $2.10. Dan Mackle is the trainer for owners Sue and Tim Spooner of Olympia.
Snow On the River, ridden by Leslie Mawing, gained the lead on the last turn and led by 1-½ lengths at the eighth pole, but was overtaken late and settled for second place. The runner-up paid $4.40 and $2.80.
Over and Under, an 18-to-1 long shot ridden by Javier Matias, finished third and paid $3.20. Gold Harbor, Hoofprintsintime and Touch the Sun completed the order of finish.
Gold Harbor and Touch the Sun engaged in an early speed duel while setting fractions of :23.23 and :46.62, a rapid pace that helped set the table for Mr. Mad Max. And the 4-year-old gelding was up to the task, commencing his bid on the last turn and sweeping past the leaders with a late rush for the victory.
A Washington-bred by Tribunal, Mr. Mad Max is two-for-four at the meeting—both victories via last-to-first rallies—and is 3-4-2 in 20 starts overall, with $41,153 in earnings.
Hoonan-Trujillo rode two winners on the eight-race card and leads the jockeys with 10 riding doubles at the meet. The Spooners have won four races at the meeting and are No. 3 all-time with 134 wins at Emerald Downs.
NOTES: 3-year-old Camp Granada ($6.20) produced one of the meet’s most impressive maiden victories with a 7-¾ -length score in the fourth race, running the six furlongs in a brisk 1:08.83 under Leslie Mawing. Owned by Ron Crockett and trained by Frank Lucarelli, the son of Forest Camp-Pleas Write is a half-brother to 2010 Kent Handicap winner Rewritten.
Lucarelli had a big night with two winners running sub-1:09 six furlongs. The second was Randall & Rossi’s 4-year-old filly Alittlebitfamous ($3.40), who clocked a 1:08.42 while winning the sixth race by 8-¼ f lengths under Pedro Terrero. Five-for-six at Emerald Downs and six-for-10 lifetime, Alittlebitfamous was claimed by Bill Bomar for $7,500 with Jonathan Nance the new trainer…Mawing rode two winners and leads Joe Crispin 54-52 in the jockeys’ standings.
Live racing continues Saturday with first post at 2 p.m. Simulcast action includes the $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) featuring 4-to-5 morning line favorite Twirling Candy.
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