Howey sends trio in quest for Humboldt County Marathon win

For local horsemen, the C.J. Hindley Humboldt County Marathon is a prize worth greater than its $20,000 purse.

The 1 5/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up, where horses cross the finish line four times, concludes the Humboldt County Fair meet in Ferndale, Calif., on Sunday.

“It's the only race I know of with a $20,000 purse that people claim horses to run in,” said trainer Quinn Howey, who will saddle three of the six starters in the field.

Owner Scott Herbertson won the 2016 and 2017 editions with So Elite and Noble Nick, a pair of runners each claimed for $16,000. He will run recent $5,000 claim Mad Luther this year.

Trainer Isidro Tamayo is running Mr. Q, a $5,000 claim in May who has picked up checks in all four starts for his new barn.

One of Howey's trio of runners, Domenico, was claimed for $5,000 at Sacramento with this race in mind. Leon Scott owns Domenico and fellow Marathon runner Dizzy Dancer.

“Leon Scott talks all year about finding a runner to win the Marathon,” said Howey.

“It's difficult to handicap a winner because of the distance and weird configuration of the race. Sometimes horses don't want to run more than one lap.

“My lone Marathon winner here was a speed horse who usually got caught at the wire but then would gallop out strong. He just had that kind of mentality, and I think Dizzy Dancer is kind of like him.”

Howey’s third entrant is Seau, who is owned in part by Allen Aldrich, who mentioned his love of Ferndale during his speech when he accepted the Eclipse Award in 2013 for his champion juvenile filly She's a Tiger.

While Howey may have the numbers on his side, trainer Quentin Miller has the proven commodity in Engram, who was the longest shot in the field last year and wound up winning the race by 7 ¾ lengths after trailing the field early in the race.

Engram has a pair of seconds in eight starts this year: in a $50,000 claimer at Santa Anita and in a seven-furlong prep at Ferndale eight days ago.