Ethan's Baby will be hard to catch in Irish Day Handicap

AUBURN, Wash. – Ethan’s Baby is likely to be a prohibitive favorite Sunday in the $50,000 Irish Day Handicap at Emerald Downs. First post for the 10-race card is 2 p.m. Pacific, and the Irish Day, for 3-year-old fillies at one mile, is the ninth race.

Ethan’s Baby suffered a narrow defeat in the Seattle Handicap in her last start, but Deb’s Wildcard, the horse who edged her by a nose in that 6 1/2-furlong sprint, has since departed for California, leaving Ethan’s Baby as the undisputed leader of Emerald’s 3-year-old filly division. Suva Harbor, the other top contender Sunday, couldn’t keep up with Ethan’s Baby in the Seattle, finishing third, 2 3/4 lengths behind the top pair.

The first route test of the meeting for 3-year-old fillies, the Irish Day is the second of a four-race stakes series for sophomore fillies that concludes Aug. 8 with the $65,000 Washington Oaks at 1 1/8 miles. Ethan’s Baby has never gone long, and her ability to comfortably navigate two turns is the key question facing handicappers Sunday and beyond. But Ethan’s Baby, by Offlee Wild, is bred to run a mile and then some. She’ll have a new rider for the Irish Day, as Julien Couton, the leading rider in his first season at Emerald Downs, steps in for Javier Matias.

Ethan’s Baby has had the lead at the half-mile call in each of her four starts and figures to make a beeline for the front yet again. Suva Harbor and Seeking the Light, a recent winner against $32,000 claimers, have the tactical speed to keep her within striking range. Belle Hill, who made up ground in the Seattle in her Emerald Downs debut, is the one to look for late. But the Irish Day plot line is simple: Can anyone catch Ethan’s Baby?

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KEY CONTENDERS

Ethan’s Baby (Last 3 Beyers: 78-58-56)

◗ In her only off-the-board effort, Ethan’s Baby finished sixth in the $78,550 Ultrafleet Stakes on Santa Anita’s downhill turf course May 1.

Suva Harbor (Last 3 Beyers: 71-68-53)

◗ Nine races into her career, and Suva Harbor already has competed at five different tracks – Los Alamitos, Santa Anita, Del Mar, Sunland Park, and Emerald Downs. She finished first in the $50,180 Island Fashion Stakes at Sunland in February but was disqualified and placed eighth for causing interference.

◗ Mike Puhich is training Suva Harbor at Emerald for owner Gary Barber. John Sadler was her trainer for previous starts in California and New Mexico.

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Puhich is 13 for 39 (33 percent) the past three years with horses making their first start for him after a trainer switch.

Belle Hill (Last 3 Beyers: 70-73-56)

◗ Belle Hill has never raced around two turns, but her dam, Sealy Hill, won at distances from seven furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, and one of Belle Hill’s siblings, Paradise Alley, went gate to wire in a pair of routes at Woodbine last year. The distance shouldn’t be an issue.