Executive Chef (left) collars Brady Boy for the victory

EXECUTIVE CHEF PREVAILS IN FRIDAY FEATURE

AUBURN, Wash. (Aug. 18, 2023) –Executive Chef nailed stable mate Brady Boy in the final strides for a neck victory in Friday’s $24,000 Muckleshoot Casino Purse for 3-year-olds and up at Emerald Downs.

Ridden by Silvio Amador, Executive Chef covered 6 ½ furlongs in 1:15.95 and paid $6.40 as second betting choice in a field of seven. Blaine Wright is the winning trainer for owners John and Janene Maryanski and Gail and Gerald Schneider, all of Auburn.

Brady Boy, the 7 to 5 favorite also trained by Wright, led every stride but the last one, setting fractions of :22.03, :43.93, and 1:09.21, before yielding to Executive Chef.

Muncey rallied for third place, followed by Overly Fast, Leprino, Harbor Outlaw, and Holiday Hustle.

Winner of last year’s Auburn Stakes at age 3, Executive Chef has won two straight after a seven-race winless stretch and is 4-3-1 in 14 starts overall with earnings of $105,350. The winner is a gray Virginia-bred by Cairo Prince.

NOTES: Mutuel handle totaled $645,807 on a seven-race card. . .Silvio Amador and Isaias Enriquez rode two winners each. . .In a $24,000 sub-feature for older fillies and mares, Reign of Fire ($5.40) rolled to an easy victory in 1:10.77 for Rancho Viejo and Jerry Carmody. A hard-hitting 5-year-old Arizona-bred by Vronsky, Reign of Fire is 5-4-2 in 13 starts this year with over $65,000 in earnings. . .Friday’s $0.50 Pick 5 paid a healthy $5,158.70. The sequence included double-digit winners General Crook ($12.40), Smoken Shadow ($11.20), and Dennard ($16.60). . Live racing continues Saturday with a 5 p.m. twilight card.

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