Markle sending pair for sprint feature
Trainer Dan Markle holds a strong hand in the form of two runners entered among the group of eight in Saturday’s feature race at Emerald Downs, a $15,000 claimer for nonwinners-of-two over six furlongs.
Markle will saddle Lassie Cat, a 4-year-old by Cat Burglar, and Mary Walker, a 3-year-old by Grazen. Both raced at Golden Gate Fields last month before shipping north.
Lassie Cat won a maiden race at Emerald last summer and has given good account of herself in three of her past four outings. She went to the sidelines after a seventh-place finish last September at Emerald and finished second in her comeback on May 29 at Golden Gate.
Markle said Lassie Cat “had a modest breeze last week. She may need more time to recover from the big effort at [Golden Gate] and the ship here.”
Mary Walker, who has only raced on the Tapeta surface at Golden Gate, will make her first start on dirt Saturday. Markle said she “had a snappy breeze and seems to like the surface just fine.”
Among the others in the competitive dash is class-dropping Signature Colors, a 4-year-old daughter of Mark Valeski who has shown good early speed in both prior starts at this stand. Signature Colors finished second on debut last year behind Lassie Cat, who had racing experience at the time.
I Am Yours is a daughter of Quality Road who once sold for $100,000 at Keeneland and is trained by Sam Dronen. Leading rider Luis Negron is named aboard I Am Yours, who was a winner first time out at Fresno in 2021 but has been stalled at this class level in four Emerald starts dating back one year.
Miss Accelerate is a Blaine Wright trainee who will be making her second start against winners after finishing a close second at the same level four weeks ago. The daughter of Accelerate seems to have taken to dirt, with a win and a second from two Emerald Downs starts after racing on Tapeta at Golden Gate.
She Said My Way was a narrow maiden winner at Turf Paradise in her last start three months ago and will be facing winners for the first time. The recent Kimberley Johnston acquisition took advantage of a spirited early pace battle in her maiden score and will have to improve considerably to threaten Saturday.
Lucinda Rella drew the outside post and brings a good turn of early speed to the table for her third start of 2023.
Scatalicious has been earning decent checks for the Emerald Racing Club every time out this season, and she figures once again to have considerable tote backing from her ownership group.
Sunny skies and temperatures around 70 degrees are expected Saturday afternoon, with first post at 2 p.m. Pacific.
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