Knight Raider ties record margin in Knights Choice

AUBURN, Wash. - Knight Raider rolled to a record-tying 13-length victory in the $31,500 Knights Choice Stakes for 2-year-old fillies Sunday at Emerald Downs. The 3-5 favorite in the field of eight, she ran 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:03.20 and paid $3.40.

The margin of victory equaled the track record for a 2-year-old stakes winner set by Fast Parade in 2005. Knight Raider, who was ridden by Ricky Frazier for trainer Doris Harwood, sprinted clear at once, turned into the stretch with an eight-length advantage, and continued to widen. Last Blast was a distant second and Miss Cygogne finished third.

Restricted to progeny of nominated stallions, the Knights Choice was the season's first stakes race for juveniles. Knight Raider is by Tribunal, a $1.8 million Keeneland yearling by Deputy Minister who stood at El Dorado Farms in Enumclaw, Wash. Tribunal died in January 2008 after suffering a broken cannon bone in a stall mishap, and Knight Raider is from his final crop.

El Dorado Farms owner Nina Hagen owns Knight Raider in partnership with Harwood; Hollis Sturgeon of Renton, Wash.; Delores Christiansen of Kent, Wash.; and Colleen Caufield of Eatonville, Wash. Knight Raider earned $17,325, increasing her career mark to $22,193 from three starts.