Oregon Championship Day has Root out for repeat attempts

Five stakes races for Oregon-bred horses highlight Oregon Championship Day on Sunday at Portland Meadows. The biggest day of the year for statebreds, Oregon Championship Day is topped by a pair of $20,000 stakes for 2-year-olds at six furlongs, the Janet Wineberg for fillies and the open Bill Wineberg.

Also carded are three $12,000 stakes: the Oregon His, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old males; the Oregon Hers, a one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies; and the Lethal Grande Sprint Championship, a six-furlong event for 3-year-olds and up.

Trainer Ben Root swept both of the Wineberg stakes with Seattle Shamus offspring last year, and he returns with two more daughters and three sons of that Seattle Slew sire this year. Root has a good chance to win the Bill Wineberg, but his runners will have to pull upsets to give him a repeat in the Janet Wineberg.

Root’s entrants in the Bill Wineberg are the track’s 5-2 morning-line favorite, Shamundi, who finished third in the Dennis Dodge at Portland Meadows after winning his debut there, and a pair of maidens, What a Shamus and first-time starter Pepperjack Pete.

Root saddles Chick Power and Fancy Chancy for the Janet Wineberg. Both Chick Power, who missed by a nose in the Lassie, and Fancy Chancy, who just won her maiden, are listed at 6-1 on the track’s morning line.

They must face the 5-2 favorite, Carrabelle Harbor, who began her career with two stakes wins at Emerald Downs, and the 3-1 Legendary Madame, a winner of three straight.

Root also saddles the favorite for the Oregon His, Es Baquvenue Titan. His main competition may come from last year’s Bill Wineberg winner, Smoken Sham, who is trained by Jonathan Nance.

Shame On Rosie, last year’s Janet Wineberg winner who won the one-mile Oregon Ms. in February, is the 6-5 favorite in the Oregon Hers.

The Lethal Grande appears a wide-open event, with Taylor Jones a 7-2 favorite as he seeks his first stakes win. He’s a Goblin and the mare Gameshy are both 4-1 in the Lethal Grande.

There are also several off-the-track promotions for Oregon Championship Day, including a fair and beer fest, which will offer beer from 12 local breweries, wine, specialty foods, and artisan products from Oregon vendors. Two hundred pair of tickets to the Dec. 18 Portland Trail Blazers-Golden State Warriors NBA game will also be given away.

First post is 12:40 p.m. Pacific, with the first of the Oregon Championship races scheduled for 2:07 p.m.