Texan Looks Down the Road

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michael Costanzo
(253) 288-7723
michaelc@emeralddowns.com

News and Notes: Saturday, August 26, 2006

TEXAN LOOKS DOWN THE ROAD

Flamethrowintexan is resting at Homestretch Farm after his impressive victory in the 71st running of the Grade III Longacres Mile.

“He's doing really well,” assistant trainer Kay Cooper said. “He came out of the race great and he went back to the barn and ate all his feed. Sometimes when horses run that hard, they're spent and won't eat, but he came back incredibly.”

The 5-year-old son of Way West, conditioned by state Hall of Fame trainer Jim Penney and owned by Paul and Lori Heist of Grasshopper Stable, has won four stakes in his career. With his victory in the Mile, the gelding moved atop the all-time earnings list at Emerald with $358,728.

“We pointed him to the Mile,” Cooper said, “and then we worked everything from that date back. We had one race in mind from the beginning.”

The next job for the barn is to find a place for Flamethrowintexan to make his next start. Cooper has suggested that they are looking at an array of stakes events, both on the turf and dirt, including the Grade III Robert F. Carey Memorial at Hawthorne on September 30 and the Oklahoma Classic at Remington Park, also on September 30.

“We're still talking. We have some time,” Cooper said. “We're probably looking for a grade III on dirt sometime in September,” Cooper said.

While the team is considering turf races, notably the 1-mile Carey, Cooper has indicated that ‘Tex' will likely make his next appearance on the dirt.

“The best horses don't run on the lead on the turf,” Cooper said.

AUNT SOPHIE HAPPY IN FOAL

Doc Barth said that 2004 Top Older Mare Aunt Sophie is at the farm and doing well. The 8-year-old daughter of Altazarr, out of Sister Eunice, was bred to Event Of The Year.

“She really doing great,” Barth said. “She had a good race record and she's a good sized mare so she should be a good broodmare.”

Aunt Sophie completed her racing career with a 10-5-7 record from 35 starts with $297,150 in earnings.

In 2004 she won three stakes races, the Washington State Legislators Handicap, the Emerald Downs Breeders' Cup Distaff and the Belle Roberts.

* Marianne Rose, trained by Richard Wright, won the $50,000 Lassie Handicap at Hastings Park on Saturday. The 2-year-old Kentucky-bred filly broke her maiden at Emerald Downs on July 8, and returned to finish fourth in the Angie C. Stakes on July 16.

* Dual stakes winner Immigration worked 7 furlongs on Saturday, covering the distance in 1 minute and 26 2/5 seconds.

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Emerald Downs is celebrating its 10th anniversary season with a 91-day racing meet from Friday, Apr. 21st through Sunday, Oct. 1st. The centerpiece of the 2006 season, the 71st running of the Grade III $250,000 Longacres Mile, was won by Flamethrowintexan on Sunday, August 20th. For more information please visit www.emeralddowns.com