Bella Mia (No. 1) and Ima Happy Cat face older fillies and mares

$50,000 HASTINGS STAKES DRAWS 11 NOMINATIONS

AUBURN, Wash. (May 19, 2019) – Stakes action shifts into older filly or mare mode with the $50,000 Hastings Stakes on Monday, May 27.

At six furlongs, the Hastings is the first of four older stakes events for fillies and mares and the first of two sprints. The series culminates with the $50,000 Emerald Distaff at 1 1/8 miles on Sunday, August 11.

Blaine Wright looks to continue a remarkable run in the Hastings. The top stakes trainer the last two seasons at Emerald Downs, Wright swept all five older filly or mare stakes last season with five different horses: Invested Prospect, Alliford Bay, Top Quality, Reginella and Fly Far Away.

And Wright has a strong hand for the Hastings, nominating four horses—Always Enuff, Bella Mia, Best of Me and Fly Far Away. Bella Mia has been a top performer here the last two years, compiling a 5-3-1 record from 10 starts with earnings of $150,173, and she ran well to finish second to Best of Me in her first start vs. older fillies or mares May 5.

Ima Happy Cat, winner of the 2018 Seattle Stakes, returns from California where she recorded a 2-2-0 record in five starts this year, including a runner-up finish to quadruple stakes winner S Y Sky in the $75,000 Camila Urso Stakes on the turf at Golden Gate

Trainer Tom Wenzel, who won back to back Hastings with Stopshoppingdebbie and Kikisoblu in 2014-15, nominated Diamonds R and Dontkissntell. The former posted a $28 upset in the 2018 Irish Day Stakes, and the latter won the 2018 Washington Cup Sophomore Filly Stakes and comes off an eight-length victory over allowance/optional claimers April 27.

Dontkissntell

$50,000 Hastings Stakes, 6F, Monday, May 27
Horse. . . . . . . .Owner. . . . . . . .Trainer
Always Enuff (5/WA) Ten Broeck Farm Blaine Wright
B C Z Middleton (6/KY) Jill Burns Manny Ortiz
Bella Mia (4/WA) John & Janene Maryanski Blaine Wright
Best of Me (4/KY) Todd & Shawn Hansen Blaine Wright
Diamonds R (4/KY) George Todaro or David Cordova Tom Wenzel
Dontkissntell (4/BC) Darlyne or Karl Krieg Tom Wenzel
Fly Far Away (6/WA) Todd & Shawn Hansen Blaine Wright
Ima Happy Cat (4/CA) Sue & Tim Spooner Dan Markle
Jerre to Carrie (6/KY) Casa Loma Stable Kay Cooper
No Talking Back (5/WA) One Horse Will Do and Steve Shimizu Chris Stenslie
Paddy’s Secret (5/KY) Donnybrook Stable Frank Lucarelli