Horses to take run at rare feat at Longacres Mile

AUBURN — Sunday’s Longacres Mile shapes up as a rubber match between the two most recent winners of the Northwest’s most prestigious horse race.

Five Star General, who won last year’s edition, and Slew’s Tiz Whiz, the 2022 champ, will square off in the 89th running at Emerald Downs. The two present a contrast in styles. Five Star General does his best running on the pace, while Slew’s Tiz Whiz excels at closing from far behind.

Both will be looking to join an exclusive club. Only four horses have won the Mile twice, and only one of those — Stryker PhD in 2014-15 — has done so at Emerald Downs since it replaced Longacres racetrack in 1996.

Five Star General, running his fifth consecutive Mile, comes in as the 5-2 morning-line favorite and appears to be in top form. The well-traveled 8-year-old has spent the past year at tracks in the South and Midwest, notching victories at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and most recently at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Jockey Joe Bravo, who was aboard for last year’s victory, returns to ride.

Slew’s Tiz Whiz, the second choice on the morning line at 4-1, comes into the Mile in sharp form too, charging down the stretch to score a dead-heat victory in the Governor’s Stakes at 6½ furlongs last month at Emerald Downs. The 6-year-old, who will have regular rider Jose Zunino aboard, got the better of the post position draw. He’ll break from post 3 while Five Star General will have to try to get across and save ground from post 9 in the crowded 12-horse field.

If a horse is to deny one of those two a second Mile victory, it might be Clovisconnection, the third choice on the morning line at odds of 9-2. The California-based speedster has won nine of 14 races, mostly in frontrunning fashion. He typically runs in shorter sprints but has stretched his speed to win beyond a mile once before. Northern California-based jockey William Antongeorgi will be in town to ride.

Arma d’Oro, who shared the dead heat for victory in the Governor’s Stakes, appears to be another threat at 8-1. Claimed for $25,000 early in the Emerald Downs meet by trainer Justin Evans, he could return more than $80,000 if he takes the winner’s share of the $150,000 purse in the Mile. Jockey Kevin Krigger has been red hot of late, winning 36 percent of his races this season at Emerald Downs.

Evans, the track’s leading trainer, will have his hands full before the race, saddling three other runners: Neiman, Giant Game and Surprsinglyperfect.

The Mile, for 3-year-olds and up, will be the 9th of 11 races on Sunday’s card, which includes three additional stakes races: the $50,000 Emerald Distaff for older fillies and mares, the $50,000 Muckleshoot Derby for 3-year-olds, and the $50,000 Washington Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. The track will offer a 50-cent all-stakes pick-4 wager on the four-race sequence.

The field for the $150,000 Longacres Mile:

1: Neiman, Luis Reyes, 124 lbs., 10/1

2: Clovisconnection, William Antongeorgi, 124, 9/2

3: Slew’s Tiz Whiz, Jose Zunino, 124, 4/1

4: Deshambeau, Isaias Enriquez, 124, 20/1

5: Phantom Ride, Rocco Bowen, 124, 20/1

6: Il Bellator, Luis Jimenez Alburto, 124, 12/1

7: Arma d’Oro, Kevin Krigger, 124, 8/1

8: Giant Game, Alex Cruz, 124, 12/1

9: Five Star General, Joe Bravo, 124, 5/2

10: Surprsinglyperfect, Luis Negron, 124, 15/1

11: Prince Abu Dhabi, Alexander Chavez, 124, 12/1