AUBURN — Stryker Phd is at the top of his game.
He scored a game victory in the Budweiser Handicap in June and unleashed an eye-catching rally to run away with the Mount Rainier Handicap in July. All told, the 6-year-old Washington-bred gelding has won six races in a row at Emerald Downs since 2013, all with a furious stretch-running style that has made him a fan favorite.
On Sunday he faces his toughest challenge when he tries to win his second straight edition of the $200,000 Longacres Mile, the Northwest’s richest horse race.
A repeat victory in the Mile would be unprecedented at Emerald Downs, which opened in 1996. In 79 previous runnings of the race, only three horses have won twice, all at Longacres racetrack. Only one was a Washington-bred — Trooper Seven, whose 1981 victory was voted best Longacres Mile of the 20th century in a media poll. Matching the legendary Trooper would put Stryker Phd in elite company.
It won’t be easy for the 9-5 morning-line favorite to get there. He’ll have 11 rivals, all of whom will be carrying less weight on their backs under the race’s handicap conditions. An assortment of California invaders, top Canadian runners and local hopefuls will try to beat him to the wire. Among them:
• Sammy Mandeville, who has been tangling with top-class horses such as Catch a Flight and Bayern in Southern California. Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis will be aboard.
• Alert Bay, winner of five consecutive stakes races last year, including the B.C. Derby at Hastings Park in Vancouver and a pair of victories at Santa Anita Park near Los Angeles.
• Fleet Eagle, whose only appearance at Emerald Downs was a runaway victory in the Governor’s Handicap at 61/2 furlongs in May. He’s been out of action since then, preparing in California to return for the Mile.
• Noosito, last year’s state champion 3-year-old. The full brother of 2010 Mile champion Noosa Beach gave Stryker Phd a battle in the 1-mile Budweiser Handicap in June, falling just a neck short.
For Stryker Phd to repeat as champion, jockey Leslie Mawing will have to avoid traffic trouble and try not to lose too much ground passing all those horses in front of him. If he’s to carve out his place in Northwest racing history, Stryker Phd will have to be both good and lucky.
It’s a tall task, but he’s done it before.
The Mile field from the rail out, with morning-line odds and weight assignments: 1. Del Rio Harbor (30-1) 116; 2. Noosito (10-1) 116; 3. Fleet Eagle (10-1) 118; 4. Taylors Deal (12-1) 116; 5. Majestic City (10-1) 118; 6. Absolutely Cool (15-1) 118; 7. Stryker Phd (9-5) 123; 8. Alert Bay (4-1) 122; 9. Sammy Mandeville (9-2) 117; 10. Prohibition (20-1) 115; 11. Solemnly Swear (20-1) 115; 12. Modern (20-1) 118.
Notes
The Longacres Mile will be the eighth of 11 live races with a post time about 5:30 p.m. It will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet, Channel 179. … The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive T-shirts commemorating American Pharoah’s sweep of the Triple Crown. … Lady Rosberg heads a field of six fillies and mares in the days other stakes race, the $65,000 Emerald Distaff at 11/8 miles.
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