Godsend makes Emerald debut off sharp win

Godsend heads a competitive group of nine entered in Saturday’s six-furlong allowance feature at Emerald Downs.

The 5-year-old son of Midshipman is owned by Stan Munro and trained by Justin Evans. He is scheduled to make his Emerald Downs debut from the outside post. Most recently Godsend won an April 29 allowance race at Turf Paradise in the sharp time of 1:07.80 for six furlongs as a 1-20 favorite

The latest win offered a useful stalk-and-finish lesson for Godsend, whose only prior win had come in a Feb. 5 maiden race in wire-to-wire fashion. The wide draw should afford the runner every possible chance Saturday.

Heading the opposition is Welton, who himself was a Turf Paradise allowance winner on April 15. Welton is trained by Jorge Rosales and will be ridden by Alex Cruz on Saturday. A 4-year-old son of Creative Cause, Welton is more practiced in the art of stalking than his chief foe.

Neiman is another in the field trained by Evans, and he has been off since a poor start resulted in a ninth-place finish when beaten 14 1/4 lengths on March 15 at Sunland Park. Neiman has won 2 of 4 lifetime starts and was a romping winner Dec. 5 at Zia Park when returning from a six-month layoff.

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Lloyds Logic, the 2022 Gottstein Futurity winner at Emerald Downs, will make his second start of 2024 for trainer Tom Wenzel after the runner bobbled at the start in a May 18 allowance race. Jose Zunino has the call.

Jin Tong, a Joe Toye trainee, returns to Emerald Downs after a challenging 2023 campaign at the Auburn oval. Facing the best of his division, Jin Tong gave a good account of himself in most circumstances, but his knack for veering out at the start saw him lose the rider in the Muckleshoot Derby on Aug. 13.

“We acquired him from Calumet Farm [in spring 2023], through my daughter,” Toye said. “We have yet to determine whether he is a closing sprinter or a route horse.”

Addressing the gate issues that have set Jin Tong back, the trainer said, “When we first got him, he was very sluggish breaking from the gate. I think we resolved that. He has left there in good order the last two starts.

“He shipped back to Emerald Downs the first week of May, and the cool weather seems to have rejuvenated him.”

Among others entered Saturday is recent Turf Paradise allowance winner Golden Ale, trained by Frank Lucarelli. That 5-year-old will be racing at Emerald Downs for the first time since his career debut on Aug. 26, 2021.

The speedy Mister Mafioso, trained by Faustino Patino, returned to action with a narrow win versus allowance company May 11 at Emerald Downs.

Rounding out the field are the closers You’re the Cause, trained by Debbie Van Horne, and Muncey, trained by Howard Belvoir, either of which could inherit everything if the projected pace brings the others back to them.

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