AUBURN, Wash. – For the second consecutive year, a horse owned by Doug McPhee won Sunday's $50,000 Muckleshoot Derby, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds at Emerald Downs. But this year's winner, He's Not Talking, had a new trainer – McPhee himself – owing to the recent death of Bonnie Jenne.
With leading local jockey Kevin Krigger in the irons, He's Not Talking dueled the 3-5 favorite Si That Tiger for the early lead in what amounted to a match race. Sent off at odds of 8-1, He's Not Talking simply wore his rival out in the stretch, prevailing by 4 1/2 lengths and again calling into question whether Si That Tiger, who finished second, might be better suited to sprints than routes. It was another 5 3/4 lengths back to Star Travel in third.
He's Not Talking paid $19.06 to win and covered the distance in a stakes-record 1:40.98.
On a six-stakes day filled with upsets, Stay Sassy pulled off a huge one in the 1 1/16-mile Emerald Distaff, paying $37.52 to win. After a half-mile that went in 45.31 seconds, Stay Sassy started moving and pulled even with Aloha Breeze, the favorite as well as the race's defending champ, in deep stretch and pulled away to win by three-quarters of a length in a stakes-record time of 1:42.15.
"We were hoping we could run third, but here we are," trainer Charles Essex deadpanned in the winner's circle after the race, which marked the first of Krigger's two stakes wins on the day.
The biggest upset on the card came in the Washington Oaks. There, Chatty Leroybrown paid $68.72 to win, giving trainer Hilario Perez, who was 0 for 34 coming into Sunday, his first win of the entire meet.
Both juvenile stakes, the WTBOA Lassies Stakes and the WTBOA Lads Stakes, were won by the trainer-jockey combination of Frank Lucarelli and Isaias Enriquez.
Cantcatchthiscat got what Lucarelli deemed "a perfect trip," taking the lead near the eighth pole and defeating Robin Racer by 1 1/2 lengths in the Lads. Meanwhile, the Lassies, which was the first stakes on the card, fouled up many a pick six when Falling Leaves, sent off as a 1-2 favorite, ran out of steam after leading most of the 6 1/2-furlong race. Picking up the pieces in a forceful manner was Bewitching Joy, who beat Subtle Shimmer by 7 3/4 lengths. It was another 4 1/2 lengths back to Falling Leaves, who held on for third.
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