HASTINGS HANDICAP
17th RUNNING, MAY 13, 2012
6 FURLONGS IN 1:09.17 (:22.51, :44.20, :56.94)
JOCKEY JUAN GUTIERREZ, CLASS INCLUDED, WINNER: “I was a little worried about breaking from the inside because I’d rather have an outside position. With a horse like (Class Included), you can really put her anywhere in the race and she’ll try hard. I needed to hold her back a little bit going into the turn so that I could move her outside. Once I swung her outside, she really started to move. I thought this would be an easier race to win, but I know Elusive Noise, and she has a lot of class. I didn’t know if we were going to get by her, but my horse did just enough.”
JOCKEY GALLYN MITCHELL, ELUSIVE NOISE, SECOND: “I followed Tom (Wenzel’s) instructions and it worked to a tee. We wanted to get the lead and then try to back up the pace up as much as possible. I thought I had the race won. We had the lead until the last two jumps, but the last two jumps are where the money is. She ran her heart out there today.”
NOTES: Class Included (11-6-5-0-$219,323)…Class Included has 3 career stakes wins at Emerald Downs and 4 overall…Owners Michael & Amy Feuerborn rank second all-time with 20 stakes wins at Emerald Downs…Trainer Jim Penney ranks third all-time with 42 stakes wins at EmD…Jockey Juan Gutierrez ranks third all-time with 39 stakes wins at EmD…Favorites are 8-for-17 in the Hastings Handicap…The record low payoff in the Hastings is $2.80 by both Ropersandwranglers in 1996 and Fair Apache in 2000…Billie Klokstad, widow of trainer Bud Klokstad, was Honorary Steward for the 17th Hastings Handicap…Next for older fillies & mares: $50,000 Washington State Legislators Stakes, 6-½ furlongs, Sunday, June 10.
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