In his infinite wisdom, the fictitious anchorman Ron Burgundy once said, “I like a good, strong lady and a tasty BLT.” His sandwich preference notwithstanding, trainer Tom Wenzel has two good, strong ladies entered in Sunday’s fourth race at Emerald Downs, a $26,000 allowance for fillies and mares ages 3 and up over six furlongs. The best and strongest of Wenzel’s race 4 ladies is Aloha Breeze, who went wire to wire on Aug. 11 to dominate the $50,000, 1 1/16-mile Emerald Distaff by 11 lengths after going off as an even-money favorite. On the same day, Wenzel’s Lapush won the $50,000 Washington Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile route for 3-year-old fillies, by a single length after stalking three wide under Carlos Montalvo, who also rode Aloha Breeze to victory. Making these wins all the more impressive is the fact that both horses have primarily been sprinters, although Wenzel said it’s his goal “to try to have them run well in all the races, sprint and distance.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “Aloha’s a very established sprinter, and I’ve had her for a lot of years,” Wenzel said of the 5-year-old mare who’s owned by George Todaro. “She’s more than likely the favorite, but Lapush is a good little horse and has worked good again this year. This is her 3- to 4-year-old year, and that’s always a turning point.” Lapush, the 6-1 fourth choice on the morning line in a field of five, turned in a bullet five-furlong work in 58.60 seconds on May 10. Julien Couton will have the mount on Lapush as Montalvo, winless in 12 starts this meeting entering Saturday’s card, will return to ride Aloha Breeze, the 4-5 morning-line favorite. While Lapush, 4 for 7 lifetime at Emerald, has been off since her Oaks win, Aloha Breeze raced this winter at Turf Paradise, where she was 2 for 3 with Montalvo in the irons. She’s twice made the annual trip to Phoenix, where she was temporarily transferred to the barn of Wade Rarick before returning to Wenzel’s care at Emerald. “It’s a total trust thing. If he needs any information about the horses, of course we give it to him,” Wenzel said of his relationship with Rarick. “George’s racing manager, Bob Cappelletti, is his liaison. Me and Wade aren’t talking to each other that much, but I talk to Bob and Bob talks to Wade. Wade’s got a lot of experience, so we give him the horses and let him do his thing, and him vice versa with me.” Absent a leap of maturity by 4-year-olds Lapush and Chai (5-1), a Kay Cooper trainee who won the 1 1/16-mile Washington Cup Filly and Mare Stakes on Sept. 15 at Emerald, it’s hard to imagine Aloha Breeze, with seven wins in 10 local starts, not doing her thing as well on Sunday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.