Strategic Patience wore down heavily favored Champali Lace in the final strides for a neck victory Friday in the $11,650 feature race for fillies and mares at Emerald Downs.
Perfectly ridden by Debbie Hoonan, Strategic Patience ran six furlongs in 1:09.89 and paid $17, $3 and $2.20. The winner is a 7-year-old Washington-bred mare owned, bred and trained by Don Munger, the 88-year-old World War II veteran from Enumclaw, Wash.
Champali Lace, the 1-to-5 betting favorite ridden by Leonel Camacho-Flores, held second place and paid $2.10 and $2.10. The 5-year-old mare was bidding for a fourth straight win and ran gallantly in defeat, leading to deep stretch before finally yielding to Strategic Patience.
White River, ridden by Jose Zunino, chased Champali Lace from second place throughout, but settled for third and paid $3. Drawing Breath and Cotillion Belle completed the order of finish.
Hoonan now has 391 wins at Emerald Downs and is only four behind Jennifer Whitaker, the track’s all-time leading female jockey with 395 wins. She said Strategic Patience is a personal favorite.
“Whenever she runs, she always gives a hundred percent,” Hoonan said. “I love riding her.”
The victory snapped a nine-race losing streak for Strategic Patience that dated to July 4, 2010, however she ran well in several losses including two seconds and three thirds. In her two most recent races she finished fourth and third to Champali Lace.
NOTES: A pair of mares*6-year-old Seattle Game ($3) and 5-year-old Akina ($3.40)*scored victories in races four and seven and became the third and fourth horses with four wins at the meet. They joined Go With Gusto and Zippin E in the four wins category, and with 54of-81 days complete it’s time to begin contemplating 2012 yearly honors. A Washington-bred owned by R.E.V. Racing and trained by Frank Lucarelli, Seattle Game ran 6-½ furlongs in 1:15.97 and held off 2011 Top Claimer Touch of Elegance for the victory. A Florida-bred owned by Michael Pattison, Dean Essex and Vikki Trenkenschuh and trained by Charles Essex, Akina ran one mile in 1:38.01 and including two wins at Portland Meadows is six-for-nine this year*Seattle Game, however, was claimed for $5,000 by owner Bill Bomar and will now be trained by Vince Gibson*In race five, Lady Dakota ($9.20) led gate-to-wire and female jockeys rode the top three finishers: Kubinova, Lady Dakota; Jennifer Whitaker, Just Have’n Fun, and Hoonan, Sweet Saga*Kubinova recorded her third straight two-win day, and with 56 wins in 54 days is on pace to easily break Cassie Papineau’s single-season apprentice mark of 70 wins set in 2009*Leslie Mawing was aboard Seattle Game and pulled within two wins of 2,000 for his career. He rides in seven races Saturday including Seventyprcentcocoa in the $17,950 feature race for fillies and mares*Frank Lucarelli led the trainers with two wins and stretched his lead to 34-30 over Tim McCanna in the trainers’ standings*First post Saturday is 2 p.m.
