He's a Cruiser aims for sixth straight win Thursday

AUBURN, Wash. – He’s a Cruiser, well on his way to a record-breaking season, headlines Thursday’s nine-race card at Emerald Downs. Racing begins at a special first post time of 4:30 p.m. Pacific and will be followed by Emerald’s annual fireworks spectacular.

He’s a Cruiser has won five successive starts while rocketing up the class ladder for trainer Vince Gibson, and with the 74-day meeting just short of the halfway point, has moved within striking range of the record for wins at an Emerald Downs meeting. Halonator set the standard with eight victories in 2005.

He’s a Cruiser already has equaled the total of last year’s leading winners, Kind of Naughty and Southern Solution, who each won five times during the 2013 meeting. But while he will face only four rivals Thursday in a $20,000 claimer at one mile, He’s a Cruiser will be hard-pressed to win his sixth in a row.

He’s a Cruiser began is current roll in the $5,000 claiming ranks and has subsequent victories for $7,500, $10,000, and then $15,000 in each of his past two starts. Among those standing in his way are Assessment, a graded stakes winner of $520,390, and Dare Me Devil, a stakes winner at Portland Meadows in 2013.

Gibson has credited He’s a Cruiser’s success to simple maturation. A Washington-bred by Raise the Bluff, the 5-year-old gelding has compiled an 8-5-7 mark in 28 starts, with earnings of $73,024 for Maureen Hallett and Pam Gibson. Leslie Mawing, Emerald’s leading rider, has been aboard for his starts this year.

“I’ve had him since he was a baby, and I always knew he could run,” Vince Gibson said prior to He’s a Cruiser’s most recent victory June 21. “He’s had the ability all along, but he was a nut when he was young. He’s much more mature. He and Leslie are a great team.”

In addition to Assessment, who rallied strongly to finish second behind He’s a Cruiser in his last start, and Dare Me Devil, the field includes Surfliner, a late-running sprinter who is 0 for 9 at one mile, and Chu and I, who steps up sharply in class after finishing second in a $7,500 claimer in his last start.

• Find Your Spot was assigned a Beyer Speed Figure of 70 for her victory Sunday in the Irish Day Handicap for 3-year-old fillies. In running her winning streak to four, Find Your Spot covered one mile in 1:35.78 to run down pacesetter Chu and You, Emerald’s champion 2-year-old filly in 2013.