When Chuckanut Bay first entered Howie Gibson’s barn, the young trainer was pragmatic to a fault, running him in an $8,000 claiming race on May 10, which he won with ease.
That was then.
With three wins in as many starts at Emerald Downs, Chuckanut Bay, named for a drop-dead gorgeous area near the Canadian border, deserves the chance he’ll get in the $50,000 Governor’s, one of five stakes on the Sunday card. Chuckanut Bay has run the 6 1/2-furlong distance of the Governor’s faster than any horse at the current meet, clocking 1:14.05 in a high-level allowance race on June 28.
“I figured we’d give him a chance and see how he runs,” said Gibson. “He beat a pretty nice field the other day. He’s on point right now, so we might as well give him a chance.”
A fourth consecutive trip to the winner’s circle is shrouded by obstacles, however. First and foremost, Slew’s Tiz Whiz has won this race each of the past three years. He’s a stone closer, and there’s enough early speed in the nine-horse field to set him up for a four-peat.
“Slew’s got one way of running. You just let him close,” said trainer Tom Wenzel. “So many times it comes down to him getting kind of a clean trip.
“He can go around them if a pace is really solid and they come back to him. But if the pace is not up to his liking, he’s got to cut the corner, so I’ve done a little bit of everything from that standpoint. This race looks like there should be enough speed with Papa [Papa’s Golden Boy] and Chuckanut Bay.”
Despite his success in Governor’s past, Slew’s Tiz Whiz is unlikely to go off favored Sunday due to Clovisconnection’s presence in the field. Clovisconnection held off a late charge from Slew’s Tiz Whiz to win the June 22 Budweiser Stakes by three-quarters of a length, and he’s got three wins from four starts at Emerald, his lone loss coming by a head in last year’s $150,000 Longacres Mile.
“He’s a serious racehorse who wins over half his starts and loves this racetrack,” said Wenzel of the Blaine Wright trainee. “He’s definitely the one to beat.”
Justin Evans has a trio of horses entered in the Governor’s, the most intriguing of which is 7-year-old Positivity, who will be making his Emerald debut off a $50,000 claim. A late-running type with tactical speed, Positivity notched a Beyer Speed Figure of 98 in a win at this distance at Santa Anita on March 29, which would be the best number in this field were it not for the 101 he posted at the same distance in October 2023.
“That six and a half distance is his ideal distance,” said Evans. “It looks like he’ll get the setup on paper. He drew the outside. You couldn’t have asked for a better draw with all the speed to the inside of him. Classy old horse, made a lot of money.”
There are two juvenile sprints among the five Sunday stakes, and Evans figures to have the favorite in the Angie C. Stakes. Whiskey High, out of the graded stakes-producing mare Tennessee Whiskey, will be making her Emerald debut after going 2 for 2 at Turf Paradise over the spring. She will have leading jockey Kevin Krigger along for the ride over 5 1/2 furlongs.
“We’re excited about her. We’ve loved her since the day she came in,” said Evans. “I liked her because she comes from a great family. Her races in Phoenix were very impressive. We were kind of stuck, no spots to run – we were the only 2-year-old in America who’d won two races. We drew the outside, drew a great post. Kevin’s worked her for me, likes her, knows her.”
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The day’s biggest race for older fillies and mares is the 6 1/2-furlong Washington State Legislators Stakes, where Wenzel has entered last year’s runaway winner, Aloha Breeze. The 5-year-old, who is 8 for 12 at Emerald, finished second in the June 22 Hastings Stakes to Attracted, who pulled up lame after the race and has since been retired.
Two lengths behind Aloha Breeze in third was the Isidro Tamayo-trained Brookys Gal, who comes back for more on Sunday and might benefit from a little friendly pace help.
“The main threats are probably going to be Brookys Gal and Shocking Grey trying to get up late,” said Wenzel. “The Tamayo barn has two horses in here, and I’m sure Smiling Lady is gonna be the rabbit. They sent her very hard last time, and I would assume she’s probably under similar instructions this time.”
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