Fireworks on and off the track

The annual fireworks extravaganza will be held at Emerald Downs on Sunday, which means the largest crowd of the year will be in attendance. Post time for the first of eight races is 5 p.m. Pacific and the fireworks start exploding at 10 p.m.

The feature, a first-level allowance race for 3-year-olds, will go at approximately 8:10 p.m. There is also a $40,000 claiming option available to the six horses entered in the sixfurlong dash.

In a race chock full of speed, more than one horse in the feature will try to explode out of the starting gate and try to grab the early lead, including Smiling Goodbye.

Smiling Goodbye dueled through honest interior fractions before coming up empty when he finished fourth June 19 in the $50,000 Auburn in his first start at Emerald and first for trainer Debbie Perry.

Smiling Goodbye’s earlier four starts came at Santa Anita. A son of Smiling Tiger, Smiling Goodbye chased the speed and won a $50,000 maiden-claimer for California-breds by a nose March 13 in his second start. In his next start he set the pace before losing by a nose in a threehorse photo in a $25,000 conditioned claimer April 8.

Prior to the Auburn, Smiling Goodbye showed speed before capitulating when he tried turf for the first time in a first-level allowance race for Cal-breds with a $20,000 claiming option at Santa Anita on April 30.

He will break from post 4 with Juan Gutierrez picking up the mount from Alex Cruz.

Cruz opts to ride El Maestro, who is coming off a runner-up finish going 5 1/2 furlongs at this level June 12. It was his second start at the meet, and he improved significantly off his fourth-place finish at the same level May 22. A two-time front-running stakes winner at Grants Pass last year, El Maestro is trained by Rigoberto Velasquez.

In both his races this year, El Maestro vied for the early lead. He appears to have one way of going, so expect Cruz to put him in the mix soon after he breaks from post 3.

Overly Fast came from a stalking position to win a $25,000 maiden-claimer in his first start this year May 28 and used the same tactics when he beat El Maestro by 1 1/2 lengths June 12.

Trained by Tom Wenzel, Overly Fast has finished worse than third just once in his five starts. He did not break very well in his debut and finished sixth.

The shape of the race should work for Overly Fast and Mr. Mischief, who is coming off a win for trainer Steve Sherman in a $12,500 claimer for nonwinners of two at Golden Gate June 10. The 75 Beyer Mr. Mischief earned in that Tapeta sprint is easily the best figure in the field, but he is stepping up in class and running on dirt for the first time. Mr. Mischief will also be making his initial start for owner-trainer Sergio Perez, who claimed him out of his last race.