Battle of stablemates looms in Seattle Slew

AUBURN, Wash. – There has been little drama this year in the stakes ranks at Emerald Downs. Why Not Be Perfect pulled a $59.80 surprise in the Governor’s Handicap for older horses, but since that late-May shocker, Emerald’s stakes have been dominated by favorites. It could be more of the same Sunday, with Del Rio Harbor likely to be a short price in the $50,000 Seattle Slew Handicap for 3-year-olds.

Emerald’s filly-and-mare division is owned by trainer Tom Wenzel, with his Goin to the Window and Blueberry Smoothie taking turns running second and third behind undefeated stablemate Stopshoppingdebbie. The 3-year-old filly division is the domain of Find Your Spot, who ran her winning streak to four with a victory in the one-mile Irish Day Handicap on June 29. In the handicap division, Stryker Phd jumped to the fore with a popular win in the one-mile Budweiser Handicap on June 15.

Del Rio Harbor topped the list of eight nominated for the Seattle Slew, a 1 1/16-mile prelude to the nine-furlong Emerald Downs Derby on Aug. 10. The Seattle Slew has been a graveyard for favorites, with nine successive betting choices biting the dust. But a few of the nominees would seem to have little hope of toppling Del Rio Harbor on Sunday, and when post time arrives, only Noosito and a pair of horses based at Hastings are likely to pose serious threats to the favorite.

Noosito has twice taken the measure of Del Rio Harbor, his Doris Harwood-trained stablemate, and Noosito was the favorite over Del Rio Harbor in the one-mile Coca-Cola Handicap on June 22. Del Rio Harbor asserted his leading role in the division with a 2 1/2-length victory.

The new shooters from Canada, Off the Top and Slice of Red, will at least add some spice to a dwindling supply of challengers. Off the Top finished second in the 1 1/16-mile Chris Loseth Handicap at Hastings on July 1. But Off the Spot has just one victory in eight starts, in a maiden race at Hastings last summer. Going long on a fast and unfamiliar surface is likely to be more than he is ready to handle.

Slice of Red was a well-beaten fifth in the Coca-Cola in his first Emerald start, an ambitious placement on the heels of his maiden victory May 31 at Hastings.

Otherwise, it will be the same familiar players. Can Del Rio Harbor maintain his sharp form, or will Noosito turn the tables in his seventh showdown with Del Rio Harbor?