Carson's Start is Markle's best shot in two stakes

AUBURN, Wash. – A total of $115,000 in purse money will be up for grabs Sunday in a pair of stakes races for 2-year-olds on closing day at Emerald Downs, and trainer Dan Markle has a sneaky chance to get a large slice of the pie. He will send out leading contender Carson’s Start in the $50,000 Cahill Road Stakes, and follow a race later with Old Fashioned Grit in the $65,000 Gottstein Futurity.

Carson’s Start is a newcomer to Markle’s barn, having been purchased privately following his front-running victory in a $12,500 maiden claimer in July. Carson’s Start displayed ample speed and a strong finishing kick in his maiden win, covering the final furlong in a quick 12.06 seconds.

Longtime clients Sue and Tim Spooner purchased Carson’s Start from his breeder, Jean Welch, and Markle has been trying to find a race for the horse for more than a month, to no avail. He will face six rivals in the six-furlong Cahill Road, a race restricted to progeny of nominated stallions. Moby, who was third behind 2-year-old sensation Trackattacker in his last start, could start as the favorite, with late-running Daytona Beach the other leading contender.

“We just like the way he ran in his maiden race, and we made an offer,” Markle said of Carson’s Start. “I’ve had him ever since, and I’ve entered him numerous times, but the winners’ races haven’t filled. The only place I can run him is in this stakes race. He’s not very big, but he’s a smart colt and sure has a nice way of doing things. His dam made a whole sockful of money. I wish this colt was another hand taller, but I like the way he’s been working. He has matured in the past couple of weeks around here. He’s doing as good as he can do.”

Old Fashioned Grit might need both talent and luck to win the Gottstein. Trackattacker and Prime Engine have dominated the pre-race storylines, and for some, it’s a foregone conclusion one of the two will prevail. Old Fashioned Grit earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 54 in his only start, a hard-fought maiden victory Aug. 24. But Trackattacker has routinely posted Beyers in the mid-70s, and Prime Engine was assigned an 83 Beyer for his maiden score – the fastest race by an Emerald 2-year-old in almost six years.

Markle is aware that Old Fashioned Grit is up against it. But third place in the Gottstein is worth close to $10,000.

“He’s a nice colt. I think he’s rateable,” Markle said. “We’re just hoping the race sets up for a closer to have a chance to catch those speeders. Those horses are awful fast. If they get into it in the first half-mile, I might have a chance to pick up some pieces. My horse is like a good huntin’ dog: He does everything right and he wants to please you. He’s got a good attitude. I’m leading a horse over who feels pretty good. But it’s a good thing he can’t read the Racing Form .”

Mawing likes Futurity mount

Leslie Mawing, who ran away with the Emerald riding title, has some down time scheduled after the meeting closes Sunday. He will take a week to celebrate his anniversary with his wife, Caty, and spend time with his three kids at his home near Boise, Idaho. After that, he will head to the fair meet in Fresno, Calif., and then on to Golden Gate Fields for the fall and winter.

But first things first: Mawing will handle Trackattacker in his confrontation with Prime Engine in the Gottstein Futurity.

Mawing has been aboard for each of Trackattacker’s four starts and several of his workouts. After Trackattacker captured the July 20 Emerald Express by 11 lengths, Mawing said he was the best 2-year-old he had been on since Gallant Son in 2008. Gallant Son defeated Noosa Beach and Winning Machine in the 2008 Gottstein and competed in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

“I’m pretty excited,” Mawing said Friday. “Nothing’s a gimme. You have to strategize really well going a mile and a sixteenth. Anything can happen. The track variance has to play into our favor. It’s been raining, and you don’t know what you’re going to get. But as far as his ability, I’m really confident. He’s got the mind of an older horse, and the body of an older horse.”