Stryker Phd needs pace help in Budweiser Handicap

AUBURN, Wash. – Stryker Phd, a popular bridesmaid at Emerald Downs last year when he finished second in all four open stakes for older horses, will have his hands full Sunday when he returns from a long layoff to compete in the $50,000 Budweiser Handicap at one mile.

He will also have a new look, with Leslie Mawing in the saddle, replacing regular jockey Debbie Hoonan, and Larry Ross calling the training shots after Stryker Phd’s owners, Jim and Mona Hour, changed barns over the winter. Out went Margo Lloyd, who lost her best horse, and in came Ross, who, assisted by his wife, Sharon, has saddled 36 stakes winners at Emerald Downs.

Stryker Phd has been training like a tiger, Ross said, and should be ready to give a competitive effort in his first start since Nov. 29, when he faded to finish last in the Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap on the Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields. Other than one slow six-furlong move, in 1:14.80, Stryker Phd has been on his toes in the morning since returning to the track in early April.

“He’s been working really well. We’ve been letting him do his own thing,” Ross said. “Except for the one he worked in 14, his works have been excellent, and he’s finishing strong. He really likes to have something to aim for. He’s ready to go. It’s not an easy race by any means.”

Emerald’s sandy surface tends to reward horses with a forward running style. Stryker Phd is the antithesis, a deep closer with a powerful finishing kick. It’s not surprising, then, that the 5-year-old Stryker Phd often finds his best stride too late. He has 2 wins in 13 starts, with 4 seconds and 4 thirds.

To emerge with a victory, he will need both a problem-free trip from post 9, and a quick pace to set up his late run. Pepnic, a speedy shipper from Golden Gate, is a candidate to go to the front, along with Mr. Bowling, and perhaps stakes-winning sprinter Mike Man’s Gold.

The field also features two horses from Hastings in Vancouver, British Columbia, making their first career starts at Emerald Downs. Shooting Jacket won a stakes at Hastings last year; Twistgrips, an improving 5-year-old, graduated to stakes company this year.

“He does need pace, there’s no doubt,” Ross said of Stryker Phd. “But there always ends up being some speed. Mike Man’s Gold will be close. The Canadians, when they get on this track, they might show some speed. But if you’ve got a good enough horse, they are going to get there. Emerald is speed favoring, but if they go too fast, they’re still going to stagger down the lane.”

Stryker Phd captured the restricted Muckleshoot Tribal Classic in his final Emerald start last year but still seeks a signature victory against open stakes competition. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 97 for his runner-up effort behind Herbie D in the 2013 Longacres Mile, and the goal, Ross said, is to take another crack at the Northwest’s richest race on Aug. 24. The purse for the Grade 3 Longacres Mile is $200,000.

Breeders’ Cup a possibility for Stopshoppingdebbie

The undefeated Stopshoppingdebbie emerged from her latest victory in good order, trainer Tom Wenzel said this week, and the 4-year-old filly is likely to make her next start in the one-mile Boeing Handicap on July 6. Longer-term, Wenzel said, a November start in the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita is under consideration.

Stopshoppingdebbie ran her career record to 7 for 7 with a hard-fought victory in the Washington State Legislators Stakes last Sunday, holding off stablemate Goin to the Window by a half-length in a stakes-record 1:14.20 for 6 1/2 furlongs. Both fillies came home powerfully – the final five-sixteenths of a mile was run in an extraordinarily quick 28.98 seconds.

Stopshoppingdebbie received a Beyer Speed Figure of 82, a tick below her career best. Goin to the Window earned an 81, and third-place finisher Blueberry Smoothie got a 76.

Stopshoppingdebbie, Goin to the Window, and Blueberry Smoothie have now swept the top three spots in five stakes races at Emerald. All three are homebreds for Jerre Paxton’s Northwest Farms.

* Claiming activity picked up two weeks ago when Memphis Beach and Holy Dazzle both changed barns for $20,000, but then slowed to a trickle last week, when one horse was claimed for $2,500. Overall, 41 horses have been claimed for an aggregate $223,500. Leading trainer Jeff Metz, who began the week with a 27-17 lead over Frank Lucarelli in the trainer standings, has claimed seven horses while losing three, and Rigoberto Velasquez has claimed six and lost five.