Both Gibson runners will be prominent early
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On speed figures alone, Little to No Money would appear to have little to no chance of prevailing in race 4 at Emerald Downs on Saturday.
The Howie Gibson trainee is one of two 3-year-olds in the $24,000 allowance, which drew five geldings who will cover 5 1/2 furlongs. Little to No Money’s lone win came at age 2. In five career starts, his best Beyer Speed Figure is a 44 at Turf Paradise in January.
Still, Gibson gives him a puncher’s chance.
“It’s a five-horse field and the horse has been training good,” said the trainer, who has three wins from 10 starts at the young Emerald meet. “He’ll probably need a race and we’ll gauge where he needs to be.”
Gibson’s more serious candidate is the 5-year-old Knightline, who earned a career-best 78 Beyer while winning a $15,000 claiming sprint at Turf Paradise on Feb. 22. In addition to training the front-runner, Gibson owns a stake in him.
Both of Gibson’s entrants should be forwardly placed, with the trainer saying of Knightline, “He enjoys being right up there.”
The race’s other 3-year-old, Now Cato, has tactical speed, as does the 4-year-old He’s Not Talking, who could go off favored but may be racing short of his preferred route distance. He’s Not Talking earned an 89 Beyer for winning last year’s Muckleshoot Derby at 1 1/16 miles by 4 1/2 lengths under top jockey Kevin Krigger, who regains the mount Saturday.
In the third race, a six-furlong starter allowance with a $14,000 purse, Gibson has entered local favorite Chuckanut Bay, who reeled off three straight wins with Beyers in the 80s to kick off last year’s Emerald meet before finishing out of the money in his last two races of the local season.
“The last two races in Seattle, one was a stakes and the other one was a starter going long [a mile and 70 yards]. He really likes running anywhere between five and six and a half [furlongs],” Gibson said.
After crossing the wire fourth on Aug. 17 at Emerald – he was subsequently disqualified and placed ninth – Gibson shipped Chuckanut Bay to Albuquerque, where he employed a stalking style to win two consecutive races by more than three lengths apiece. He ran the winning streak to three on Nov. 10 at Turf Paradise, where he won the 6 1/2-furlong Hank Mills Jr. by 3 1/2 lengths, earning an 88 Beyer.
Chuckanut Bay then went on to lose his last three races at Turf Paradise, twice as a heavy favorite, which prompted a freshening.
“At the end of Phoenix, he wasn’t firing like he was,” said Gibson. “We gave him a little bit of a break and he likes the track [at Emerald.]”
The 6-year-old should go off favored Saturday and can be expected to stalk a pace set by Cap It Daddy, who closed out his 2025 Emerald campaign with a pair of gate-to-wire wins and hasn’t raced since Aug. 31.
◗ Gibson won Sunday’s featured sprint with the 3-year-old filly Subtle Shimmer, who overcame a stumbling start to blow by older rivals in the stretch. Subtle Shimmer’s co-owner is Addison Evans, the 9-year-old daughter of trainer Justin Evans.
While the elder Evans said there’s a good chance he’ll ship some runners in for the Aug. 16 Longacres Mile card, he won’t have a stable at Emerald for the first time in years, opting instead to set up a string at Lone Star Park in Texas. He has, however, elected to send a handful of Washington-breds, including Subtle Shimmer, to Gibson’s barn.
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