Face Your Fear out-finished Praise a Native and notched a three-quarter-length victory Friday in the featured Sports Radio 950 KJR AM Purse for 3-year-olds at Emerald Downs.
With Pedro Terrero riding his second winner on the card, Face Your Fear rallied from last place and ran six furlongs in 1:10.05 on a fast track. The winner paid $7, $3.60 and $3 as the slight betting favorite.
Trained by Frank Lucarelli for owners Chris Randall of Bellevue and Nick Rossi of Las Vegas, Face Your Fear has a career mark of 2-1-0 in six starts with earnings of $10,810. The Kentucky-bred gelding was up from the Northern California fair circuit where his most recent effort was an eighth-place finish at Pleasanton on June 24.
Praise a Native, ridden by Gallyn Mitchell, rallied in tandem with the winner, but was out-finished in the final sixteenth and settled for second place. Praise a Native paid $4.20 and $3.
It was 4-¾ lengths back to Play for Double, Joe Crispin riding, and a $5 show payoff.
Be There Joe, the early leader, weakened to finish fourth, and was followed by Camp Pendleton, Once, McGuffin and Our Tail Win.
Our Tail Win, the 2.60-to-1 second choice, lugged out on the turn and did not threaten.
Deborah Hoonan-Trujillo, rider on fourth-place finisher Camp Pendleton, lodged a claim of foul against third-place finisher Play for Double, alleging interference in mid-stretch. The stewards reviewed the incident but made no change in the order of finish.
NOTES: Pedro Terrero, Gallyn Mitchell and Juan Gutierrez rode two winners apiece on the eight-race card. Gutierrez has ridden five winners the last two nights and is within two victories of second-place Joe Crispin in the thoroughbred jockeys’ standings. Leslie Mawing leads with 66 wins, followed by Crispin, 59, Gutierrez, 57 and Deborah Hoonan-Trujillo, 53.
Lucarelli led the trainers with two wins and tied Tim McCanna for second place at 26-all. Howard Belvoir is the leader with 30 wins.
Live racing continues Saturday with first post at 2:15 p.m. The popular STAR 101.5 Kent & Allen Wiener Dog Races will be held after the third, fourth and sixth races.
Simulcast action includes a Del Mar Pick Six carryover of over $104,000, beginning with race five at approximately 4 p.m.
