Stryker Phd moves up the Washington record books
You can’t win them all.
Yes, I know Personal Ensign, Colin, and several other horses over the years have retired undefeated, but you know what I mean. 99.99% of race horses lose on occasion. Some more than others.
As far as winning and losing goes, Stryker Phd is a winner. In fact, the freshly turned eight-year-old has won 11 times in 28 races. Not bad for a Washington-bred. Heck, that’s not bad for any horse. Even the bluest bloods of Kentucky would be envious of a record like that.
Today turned out not to be he his day, but he’ll be back. Don’t believe me? You can see for yourself ...
OK, so I am not sure about horses that tweet either, but when it’s a horse as nice as Stryker Phd, I can’t resist but to read them. The occasion of his third-place finish was an allowance race at Golden Gate Fields. Although don’t be fooled by the allowance title, as every horse in the race was a stakes horse.
Breaking from the inside post position as the 8-5 favorite under regular rider Leslie Mawing, the son of Bertrando took his normal spot at the back of the pack early, but never uncoiled his often-explosive turn of foot. Perhaps it can be excused by the synthetic surface, or maybe it was the post position?
And just in case you’ve never seen that explosive turn of foot which I referenced before, keep an eye on the bay blur as we look at back at the 2015 Mt. Rainier Handicap from his home track of Emerald Downs …
But like I said, today just wasn’t his day. The result was passing only half the field this time, to finish a non-threatening third, behind a pair of Jerry Hollendorfer runners; Bronze Star and G.G. Ryder. It’s not all bad news for the Evergreen State hero, though. In finishing in the top three for the 23rd time in those 28 lifetime starts, the two-time winner of the Longacres Mile moved his name up the Washington record books.
The $3,960 he earned today for trainer Larry Ross and owners Jim and Mona Hour pushed his career earnings total to $623,801. That impressive total moved him ahead of Peterhof's Patea, and into third all-time on the Washington-bred earnings list. With plenty of giddy-up still under the hood, (he was coming off back-to-back stakes wins at Emerald Downs and Golden Gate fields to close out his 2016 season), he still has a real chance to move past Military Hawk ($686,128) and Saratoga Passage ($800,212), and into the number one spot.
Will Stryker Phd win the $177,000 he needs to become the greatest earner in Washington history? I hope so. Back on the real dirt of Emerald Downs later this year, look for the old guy to be a force once again. He may not be California Chrome or Arrogate, but this Seattle area legend is a horse to be celebrated just the same.
(All photos provided by the voice of Emerald Downs, Matt Dinerman)