Wright, Lucarelli go mano a mano in Friday feature

It is early, but the fifth race on Friday at Emerald Downs could have an impact on who will emerge as the leading trainer when the meet ends Sept. 18.

Wins in the spring in baseball count just as much as in September, and the same holds true of early-meet wins in horse racing. On Friday, the Blaine Wright-trained Summanus will try to fend off Boss Nine in a $15,000 claimer for 3-year-old nonwinners of two.

Boss Nine goes for Frank Lucarelli, who is the all-time leading trainer at Emerald. Wright was the leading trainer in 2017. Considering that since 2016 Lucarelli and Wright stand one-two in wins at Emerald Downs, it is easy to imagine they will be in the mix for the top spot in the standings when the dust settles at the conclusion of the meet.

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Summanus looks like the one to beat in the six-furlong dash, which drew six horses.

A California-bred gelding by Dads Caps, Summanus was making his first start at Emerald when he finished third in a $25,000 claimer for nonwinners of two on June 18. He went into the race off a runner-up finish in an open $12,500 claiming race for 3-year-olds on May 30 at Golden Gate Fields, and the 61 Beyer Speed Figure he received for that race on synthetic is the best in the field. The 49 Beyer he earned for his latest outing is the best last-race figure, and he could be sitting on a big effort in the third start of his form cycle.

Summanus can stalk, and with speed drawn inside, he could get a nice trip with Kevin Radke up.

Boss Nine is taking a substantial drop after not making much of an impact in his first two starts at the meet, which came May 22 and June 12. Both were first-level allowance races that carried a $30,000 claiming option.

The Kentucky-bred son of Goldencents has not lived up to the potential he displayed in his debut when he won a maiden special weight race in August. He was favored to win the $80,000 Gottstein Futurity in his second start, but after boring out going into the first turn in the 1 1/16-mile race he was never a factor.

In his sixth-place finish in his latest race, Boss Nine got off to a slow start. He will appreciate the class relief and could be dangerous from a stalking position with Anthony Mawing riding.

Man in Black was game winning a $15,000 maiden claimer his debut on June 10 for trainer Vince Gibson. The runner-up, Whatsthediff, came back to win his next start at the same level while increasing his Beyer Speed Figure by nine points.

Man in Black should have some upside, but he will have to be on his toes breaking from the rail with Juan Gutierrez up.

Man in Black also will have to deal with the Howard Belvoir-trained Decimate, who has excellent speed and will break directly to his right with Jennifer Whitaker aboard.