Trackattacker continues impressive 2-year-old season

AUBURN, Wash. – Trackattacker might be a horse worth following, both at Emerald Downs and farther afield. The speedy 2-year-old has won his two starts with ease, breaking the track record for 4 1/2 furlongs in his debut and running six furlongs Sunday in 1:08.31 to win the $45,000 Emerald Express by 11 easy lengths as the 1-20 favorite.

It is hard to know how good Trackattacker might be, but the people in charge – trainer Frank Lucarelli and jockey Leslie Mawing – are convinced that he’s more than just a flash in the pan. Mawing rode the winner in all three stakes races at Emerald last weekend – including Ole’s Miss in the Kent Handicap for 3-year-old fillies and Stryker Phd in the Mt. Rainier Handicap for older horses – and in the heady aftermath, he was most enthused about Trackattacker.

“The last time I rode a 2-year-old like this, we went to the Breeders’ Cup. He’s the spitting image of Gallant Son,” Mawing said. “It’s unbelievable how similar they are.”

Gallant Son was the champion 2-year-old at Emerald Downs in 2008, finished seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile that fall at Santa Anita after a troubled trip, and has developed into a standout middle-distance grass runner for Lucarelli, with career earnings of $520,078. Gallant Son had speed to spare as a 2-year-old but didn’t always need to use it. Both Lucarelli and Mawing have said Trackattacker will be similarly capable of rating behind horses if need be.

“He’s such a big horse. If you didn’t know it, you’d think he was an older horse,” Mawing said. “He has a huge stride.”

Trackattacker was assigned a Beyer Speed Figure of 76 for his effort in the Emerald Express, and for the time being, that puts him well ahead of Gallant Son, who in his first four starts recorded Beyers of 52, 62, 66, and 66 before topping out with an 86 when he captured the season-ending Gottstein Futurity.

Trackattacker gave the impression that he could have gone faster. After springing to a quick lead, Mawing throttled back past the half-mile marker, let two would-be pace adversaries edge into the picture, then let Trackattacker loose around the turn to discourage his five rivals and end all doubt about the outcome. He zipped through fractions of 44.12 seconds for the half and 55.91 for five furlongs and coasted home with Mawing providing a couple of taps of the whip to keep him on point.

Monster Wave, an $82,000 Keeneland yearling, finished a distant second with rider Anne Sanguinetti, who could only marvel at Trackattacker’s powerful effort.

“Wow,” Sanguinetti said after the race. “We’re never beating that one.”