My Friend Emma breezes to victory

My Friend Emma came off of two excellent pace-setting efforts in 1-mile events on the main track at Golden Gate Fields, but that didn’t stunt his sprinter’s speed in the $60,650 first division of Saturday’s Albany Stakes on the turf.

Taking the lead soon after the start of the 5-furlong race, My Friend Emma blazed through fractions of 21.13 seconds and 43.81 while opening a 5-length lead and won by 2¾ lengths in 55.42. That was just 0.17 of a second from the course record set by Vaca City Flyer in 2006.

“He’s a very fast horse that I knew cutting back in distance would be easy for him,” jockey Ricky Gonzalez said. “I let him do his own thing out there. He was going pretty fast, but he was relaxed and calm. It doesn’t bother him how fast he’s going as long as he’s relaxed and calm.”

In his two 1-mile races, My Friend Emma won a stakesquality allowance April 29 and finished second — losing by 1 length — in the Grade 3 All American Stakes on May 28.

A front-runner also won the $55,950 second division of the Albany Stakes as Southern California invader Big Champion triumphed by 2¼ lengths over Lost in the Fog Stakes winner Tribal Storm.

Big Champion had won three straight 870-yard races with quarter horses at Los Alamitos before losing by a head in a 5-furlong turf allowance at Golden Gate Fields on May 18. He didn’t carry his speed as well as My Friend Emma as his fractions were 21.12 seconds and 44.45 en route to a final time of 56.37.