Emerald Downs Derby | Gallon awarded win after inquiry

AUBURN — Thoroughbred owners Michael and Amy Feuerborn know what it's like to have victory taken from their hands with their stable star Gallon.

At age 2, the son of Victory Gallop won the Premio Esmeralda in July 2007, only to be disqualified to second, giving Margo's Gift the win.

The Feuerborns got their payback in Monday's $100,000 Emerald Downs Derby.

Gallon, ridden for the first time by Ricky Frazier, was awarded first place via inquiry when the stewards ruled that California's Thiscatsgotcharm, under Frank Alvarado, interfered with Gallon during the stretch run in getting to the finish first in the Derby.

That gave the Jim Penney trainee and even-money favorite the top spot in the track's 3-year-old championship race after Gallon finished a nose behind.

The stewards ruled that Thiscatsgotcharm caused contact near the eighth-pole when Alvarado whipped left-handed and again before the wire.

"I think it mattered," Michael Feuerborn said of the bumping. "[Gallon] got hit twice. Watching it live, I couldn't tell, but I thought he'd get by.

"It's a tough way to lose a race for those guys. We've been there."

Thiscatsgotcharm, sent off as the 5-1 fourth choice, hit the wire in front in a time of 1 minute, 49-1/5 seconds for the 1-1/8-mile distance in a field of seven geldings.

Gallon, the 2-year-old champion colt or gelding last year at Emerald, rallied from second-last and about 5-½ lengths off the pace of front-runner Fear No Evil and engaged Thiscatsgotcharm from the eighth pole home.

"I think the [disqualification] was a tough call," said Alvarado, who made the trip up from Northern California to ride. "There was a little bumping in the stretch, but nothing that I felt should have changed the outcome."

Gallon's win, worth $55,000, gave Penney his second Derby triumph and first since Irish Bear took the 1987 running at Longacres in Renton.

It was the fourth time in the 71-year history of the Derby in Washington state that a winner was disqualified from first.

"[Alvarado] hit his horse left-handed and when he came out, he hit our horse," Penney said. "Then, they went even to the wire, but I was hoping he would win the race.

"But he got beat by a nose or head and we were fortunate to get put up."

Gallon, now 4-4-1 from 11 starts with career earnings of $187,940, returned $4.20, $2.60 and $2.20. Thiscatsgotcharm paid $5 and $3.40 for second and Fear No Evil, under Gary Baze, saved a $2 show payoff after yielding to the top two just outside the 1/16th pole.

"[Gallon] did everything right today," said Frazier. "When we came running, Frankie hit his horse left-handed into me a little bit and it knocked [Gallon] just enough off stride that I didn't get him back running.

"I felt I was going to run on by him and [Gallon] kind of lost his balance when we bumped."

Notes

• Leading jockey Kevin Radke took the second race aboard the Robert Meeking-trained Maevid for his 100th victory of the season. Radke has won 100 races in a season three times at Emerald, taking the riding crown with 143 wins in 2002 and record-tying 144 firsts in 2003.

• Meeking won a pair of races on Monday's card, also taking the fourth with Poker Gift and Frazier. Frazier won twice on the card as did Alvarado and Leslie Mawing found the winner's circle three times.