Winning Weave seeks 10th career win

AUBURN, Wash. - The aptly named Winning Weave will shoot for her 10th victory in Friday's featured seventh race at Emerald Downs, a six-furlong event for $10,000 fillies and mares that has drawn a field of eight.

Winning Weave, a 6-year-old daughter of Basket Weave from the barn of trainer Joe Toye, enjoyed a banner campaign last year, winning 6 of 12 starts, including 4 wins at Emerald Downs. She is winless in five starts this year at Turf Paradise, but she twice ran second when racing six furlongs for a $10,000 tag. Ricky Frazier will have the mount.

Winning Weave might get her stiffest opposition from Cryptic Memo, a 5-year-old daughter of Memo who will be making her seasonal debut for trainer Aubrey Villyard. Cryptic Memo won only 1 of 8 starts here last year, a $12,500 claiming affair at one mile, but she will be racing for a lifetime low tag on Friday and she has trained steadily and well throughout the spring. Juan Gutierrez will ride.

Also dangerous is Bellamente, who comes off a closing second-place finish against $7,500 company when going 5 1/2 furlongs on May 5. Bellamente, a 6-year-old daughter of Boundary, was claimed by trainer Frank Lucarelli that day, and Lucarelli has an exceptional record with fresh claims. According to the Emerald Insider, a compendium of trainer statistics at Emerald, Lucarelli has won 14 of 57 tries (24.6 percent) first time out after the claim over the past five meetings. Leslie Mawing will take over the mount.

A possible upsetter is the speedy Thatsthewayluvgoes, who is dropping from the $15,000 level after a pair of disappointing efforts. Trainer Valorie Lund has named Joe Crispin to ride.