Sudden Departure rallies for stakes record

Under a patient ride from Douglas Portillo, Sudden Departure lagged half a dozen lengths behind the heavily favored She's All Silk through six furlongs in 1:08.60, then reeled in that rival inside the sixteenth marker to prevail by half a length in Wednesday's $45,000 King County Handicap for fillies and mares at Emerald Downs.

Sudden Departure got the mile distance in a stakes-record 1:34.20 and paid $15.80 to win as the second choice in the field of nine. She's All Silk, who was bet down to even money, held second by three-quarters of a length over Beaulena.

Sudden Departure, a 5-year-old daughter of Demons Begone, races for her breeders, Rick and Debbie Pabst, and is trained by Jim Penney. Wednesday's win was her first in a stakes and her fourth from 10 career starts, and the $24,750 winner's prize boosted her earnings to $68,378.