Preview then derby for Raggidy Rowe

PORTLAND, Ore. - Raggidy Rowe is on the road to the April 2 Oregon Derby after proving to be clearly the best of the statebred 3-year-olds in last Saturday's $9,000 McFadden Memorial. Raggidy Rowe will compete in the 1 1/16-mile Preview Stakes on March 12, according to trainer and part-owner M. W. Davis.

"If he runs well in that one, it will be on to the derby," said Davis. "He should love going 1 1/8 miles."

Raggidy Rowe wasn't getting tired at the end of the 1 1/16-mile McFadden, which he won by 2 1/4 lengths over Big Tuff and Ugly in 1:50.08. This could not be said for rider Shawna Barber, who had to ride Raggidy Rowe hard every step of the way.

"I thought her arms would fall off after the race, but she rode him exactly the way I asked her to," said Davis. "He is the kind of horse who will do what you ask of him, but no more. He is more than happy to just gallop around the track and he has done that for a few riders, but if you want him to run you've got to keep busy on him. Shawna worked her tail off on him, but it wasn't like she was abusing him. He was full of play as soon as he got back to the barn."

Davis and his partner, Heather Skeoch, bred and raised Raggidy Rowe. He is the first foal from his dam, the Rehaan mare Extradite, who won twice from 14 starts and earned just over $8,000. Raggidy Rowe's sire, Superior Success, never earned a dime in three starts at Santa Anita, but he is a half-brother to $847,000 earner Old Trieste. Raggidy Rowe is one of eight winners by Superior Success, who stood in Pendleton, Ore., for a fee of $800.

Big Tuff and Ugly a derby possibility

If Raggidy Rowe makes it to the Oregon Derby, which is an open race with a purse of $15,000, he will not have to face the undefeated Typhoon Aaron, who is being pointed toward an early season sprint stakes at Emerald Downs. Trainer Jim Fergason said he is preparing Tomorrow's Turn for the derby, however, and trainer Ben Root said he is considering running Quartern in the race.

Another derby possibility is Big Tuff and Ugly, who was making just his third career start when second in the McFadden.

"I was really pleased with the way he ran," said owner and trainer Harwood Ryland. "He is still very green and only ran in spots, but it's pretty clear that he has a lot of talent and he should be better the farther he goes."

Ryland said Big Tuff and Ugly was named before he blossomed, "He was the ugliest yearling I've ever seen," he said. "I never dreamed he would grow up to look as good as he does now."

Jockey Braden escapes injury

Jockey Darlene Braden emerged bruised and very sore, but otherwise uninjured from a spectacular spill in Saturday's fifth race. Braden's mount, a first-time starter named Cascades Rambler, ducked in to hit the rail on the backstretch in the six-furlong race, throwing the rider onto the top of the safety rail. Braden's boot was stuck in the strirrup, however, and the rider was flipped along the broad, flat top of the rail for several revolutions before her foot came out of her boot.

Miraculously, Braden was able to walk to an ambulance, which took her to the hospital where an examination revealed no broken bones. She took off the remainder of her mounts for the weekend owing to soreness, but was expected to return to the saddle this weekend.

As luck would have it, one of the mounts Braden was forced to abandon on Saturday was the good Quarter Horse mare My Crowning Glory, who posted a 2 1/4 length win in the 440-yard Portland Meadows Championship under substitute rider Kris O'Donnell.

"I never like to pick up a mount that way, but I did appreciate that the trainer asked me to ride," said O'Donnell, referring to owner and trainer Wayne Burger. "I had never been on her before, but we broke from the outside and Wayne just told me to hit her left-handed and keep her out of trouble. She finished like a rocket."

Terleski returns after injury

Another rider who benefited from Braden's absence was Marijo Terleski, who returned to riding last weekend after spending 16 months recovering from multiple injuries suffered in a spill here in October of 2003.

Terleski picked up the mount on Fair Amapola in Monday's sixth race and booted her to a 5 1/4-length maiden victory in the six-furlong affair. It was just her fourth mount since she resumed riding on Sunday.

"I'm thrilled to be back riding again," she said.

Terleski suffered a broken clavicle, torn tendons in her bicep, a broken rib and an injured shoulder that required a plate and six screws. She said she prepared for her return in part by swimming, biking and running, and that she intends to compete in a triathlon this spring.