Lucarelli loaded for big meet

In a world turned upside down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some sense of normalcy can be found at Emerald Downs, where once again trainer Frank Lucarelli is on his way to another training title.

Yes, the meet is just a few days old. However, Lucarelli has plenty of bullets to fire and is coming off his best year at Emerald in 2019, when he won 81 races. Next in the standings was Blaine Wright with 40 wins. Lucarelli currently has five wins, two more than Howard Belvoir.

He has four horses entered Wednesday and six Thursday. Most will be among the favorites in their respective races.

“We have a good barn,” the veteran trainer said. “The trick is getting them in the right spots.”

A horse he had in the right spot last Thursday was Elliott Bay. It did not seem like it at the time, though. A deep closer, Elliott Bay seemed up against it breaking from the rail going 5 1/2 furlongs on a track that was clearly favoring speed. Lucarelli was probably the only person not surprised when the 5-year-old son of Harbor the Gold broke alertly and made the lead soon after the start in the conditioned allowance race. He was ridden by Javier Matias.

“He needed some time off, so we turned him out in November,” Lucarelli said. “He was a fresh horse and had been training extremely well. Since most of the races Thursday had been won on the front end,

I told Javier to be aggressive coming out of the gate and to try and get his head in front. He’s just a real nice horse. When he made the lead, I was pretty confident.”

Elliott Bay had a one-length advantage at the half-mile call. Turning for home, the only question was what the winning margin would be. It was 7 1/2 lengths with Elliott Bay well in hand.

“I am not going to rush him back,” Lucarelli said. “We’ll probably point him to the first stakes for older horses. With the stakes schedule getting a bit beat up, I think most of the races will be local affairs.”

He was referring to the $40,000 Mount Rainier Stakes on Aug. 16.

The Lucarelli-trained Swingshift Deputy has a legitimate chance of winning a $10,000 claiming race that headlines Wednesday’s 10-race card. Post time for the first race is 2:15 p.m. Pacific.

Swingshift Deputy is moving from turf to dirt while making his first start since he finished third going five furlongs in a $12,000 claimer on Sept. 15 at Golden Gate Fields.

He is a four-time winner on dirt, with all four of his wins coming at Emerald. The last time he won locally was in 2016, though. The 8-year-old son of Ministers Wild Cat will break from post 3 with Jake Samuels riding.

The one to catch and beat in the six-furlong dash is Owners’ Prestige. Trained by Blaine Wright, the Australian-bred son of Testa Rossa leaves from post 7 in the 11-horse field.