Emerald: Music of My Soul takes Gottstein, Blueberry Smoothie romps in Shinpoch

AUBURN, Wash. - Music of My Soul turned back favorite Finallygotabentley for a half-length victory in the $64,350 Gottstein Futurity for 2-year-olds Sunday on closing day at Emerald Downs.

Music of My Soul, a full brother to two-time Washington horse of the year Noosa Beach, ran one mile in 1:36.90 and paid $5.60 as the second choice in a field of six. Doris Harwood is the trainer for owner Ken Alhadeff of Seattle.

Music of My Soul, by Harbor the Gold, is a horse on the way up. He needed three attempts before his first victory, a dominating effort in the restricted Dennis Dodge Stakes on Sept. 9, and took another step forward in the Gottstein. After putting away stakes winner Mike Man’s Gold on the front end, Music of My Soul appeared to be beaten when Finallygotabentley made a bold move to join him on the second turn. But Music of My Soul, under Leslie Mawing, had much in reserve. After a head-and-head battle through the stretch, he was pulling away at the end.

“I knew the two horses to beat were Finallygotabentley and Mike Man’s Gold,” Mawing said. “When Finallygotabentley came up on our outside, my horse eyed him right away and dug back in. My horse was running fast the whole way, I just didn’t want to stop his momentum. I knew this horse was game. He didn’t want to lose today.”

Music of My Soul was nearly five lengths clear of third-place finisher Raised a Secret, with Dontmesswithkitten, Mike Man’s Gold, and More Strawberries completing the order of finish.

Alhadeff, grandson of Longacres founder Joe Gottstein, served as honorary steward for the race named in his grandfather’s honor. He walked away with a check for $35,393, running Music of My Soul’s career earnings to $67,132.

On Saturday, Blueberry Smoothie rolled to an easy victory in the $49,500 Barbara Shinpoch Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. The overwhelming favorite in a field of five, she prevailed by 5 1/2 lengths and paid $2.60.

Blueberry Smoothie secured honors as the meeting’s top juvenile filly, but she might not be the best 2-year-old filly in trainer Tom Wenzel’s barn. Wenzel also trains Goin to the Window, who defeated Blueberry Smoothie by a length in the six-furlong Angie C. Stakes on Aug. 5, and Stopshoppingdebbie, a Curlin filly who overwhelmed maidens in her only start. All three are homebreds for Jerre Paxton’s Northwest Farms.

Wenzel and Paxton decided to turn out Goin to the Window and Stopshoppingdebbie for the winter and let Blueberry Smoothie go it alone in the Barbara Shinpoch, a race originally scheduled for Aug. 26 but postponed when it failed to attract enough horses.

Blueberry Smoothie, Juan Gutierrez up, ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.45 to win with something left. Innocent Love, a $5,000 supplemental nomination, finished well for second. Madame Pele was third, followed by Agoodlawyer Willdo and Song of Seattle.

The victory was worth $27,225 and pushed Blueberry Smoothie’s earnings to $46,943. Bred in Kentucky, she’s by Giant’s Causeway from the Washington stakes-winning mare Shampoo.