Lightly raced Top Quality made a looping move to the lead and poured it on late and scored a sharp 3¾-length victory over Blazinbeauty in the $50,000 Irish Day Stakes for 3-year-old fillies Sunday at Emerald Downs.
Ridden by Juan Gutierrez at 118 pounds, Top Quality raced one mile in 1:34.88 and paid $11.40, $6.20 and $4.80 as third betting choice in the field of 10. Blaine Wright is the winning trainer for owner Dave Mowat of Medina.
Top Quality’s winning time was just shy of the stakes record 1:34.74 set by Stopshoppingdebbie in 2013.
Sunday’s race was only the fourth career start for Top Quality, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Quality Road who sold for $280,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September Sale. Her previous three starts were in California with trainer Simon Callaghan, including a maiden special weight victory June 3 at Golden Gate Fields. Her overall record is 2-0-0 in four starts with earnings of $43,790.
Blazinbeauty, ridden by Isaias Enriquez at 119 pounds, rallied to finish second and paid $4.20 and $3.20. The gray daughter of Tale of Ekati now has a second and two thirds in the first three stakes in the sophomore filly division.
Retreat Yourself, ridden by Javier Matias, nosed out Reginella for third and paid $4.60 to show.
Risque’s Legacy, the 9-to-5 betting favorite, led through six furlongs in 1:10.97, but gave way under high weight of 123 lbs and finished eighth. Winner of the Kent Stakes last month, Risque’s Legacy is 3-1-0 in five career starts.
Top Quality raced in fifth place as Risque’s Legacy set the pace under heavy pressure from Sheeza Sassy Girl. The winner rallied four wide on the turn, gained the lead into the stretch and drew off to win with authority.
“When I asked her, she exploded,” Gutierrez said of Top Quality. “I hadn’t been on her in the morning, but she is a very nice filly.”
The $75,000 Washington Oaks at 1 1/8 miles is next for 3-year-old fillies on Sunday, July 23.
Notes
Wright has now won two of the first three stakes for 3-year-old fillies; Peter Redekop’s Alliford Bay romped by 3¼ lengths in the May 7 Seattle Stakes. … Wright and Gutierrez also combined to the fifth race with Kiss My Lulu ($3.20). … Wright tops the trainer’s standings in both wins (23) and stakes wins (3). … Gutierrez is No. 3 all-time with 61 stakes wins at Emerald Downs, including a record four in the Irish Day Stakes. … Rocco Bowen rode three winners and leads Kevin Orozco 61-32 atop the jockeys’ standings. Bowen’s win on That’s Your Story ($5) in race six was his 400th at Emerald Downs. He’s the 13th rider to hit that milestone. … Luz Atticus ($5.60) helped give Bryson Cooper a happy 66th birthday with a 1:08.46 clocking for six furlongs in race nine for $10,000 claimers. Kay Cooper-Penney trains the 7-year-old gelding for Grasshopper Racing Stable. … Veteran jockey Connie Doll guided Pure Brightness ($12.20) to a gate-to-wire in race two for Tom Grether Farms and trainer Robert Lawrence. A 3-year-old Washington-bred filly by Pure Prize, Pure Brightness has wins this year at Turf Paradise, Sun Downs and Emerald Downs. … In race three, Chorizo Y Papas crossed the finish line first but was disqualified and placed second for impeding Gravel ($10.80) in the stretch run. … Memphis Mobster ($3.80) made it two straight wins and 21 for his career with a victory in race five for jockey Leonel Camacho-Flores and trainer Rigoberto Velasquez. The 10-year-old California-bred gelding is 21-11-7 in 75 lifetime starts. … Daz Lin Dawn ($2.20) was a 7-length winner in the $50,000 Emerald Downs Handicap for 3-year-old fillies at Hastings Racecourse, running 6 ½ furlongs in 1:16.58. … Live racing resumes Friday with first post 6:30 p.m.
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