Out Of The Bush Leagues 24-Year-Old Woman From Wellpinit Rides Into Spotlight

Maybe it was the full moon.

Maybe it was usual vagaries of an opening night.

But with the notable exception of veteran jockey Vince Ward, who made winning the feature look easy, Saturday night belonged to the unknowns and the ladies.

At times they were one and the same.

Before Ward and Espirit DeBogen took command coming out of the stretch turn and romped in the Inaugural Handicap, a 24-year-old mother of two from Wellpinit caught the fancy of 2,254 at Playfair Race Course.

Elisha Abrahamson, an apprentice whose previous wins came on bush tracks including the Okanogan fair, won two races and added a pair of seconds.

When racing resumes tonight at 5, Abrahamson - a former high school cheerleader with no agent - is the track’s leading rider.

She hustles her own mounts through racing friends she gallops for in the evenings on a training track in Wellpinit.

Her big score came on a 16-1 shot named Shipping Bill, who ran down heavily favored Judge Me Wild to win by a half-length. Shipping Bill, trained by Tracy Lebret, returned $36.60 on a $2 win ticket.

She and Lebret struck again in the seventh, winning with KaPouilly, who nudged Sea Pirate by a head.

“It’s my first night out at Playfair and my first full year of riding,” said Abrahamson, who played basketball among her activities at Plummer (Idaho) High School. “I made a lot of errors. I’m just glad I didn’t hurt anybody but myself.”

Abrahamson took the blame for not winning a third race.

“I expected to win (on Full Crescent in the third, who broke from the difficult far outside post in a 10-horse race). I was on the best horse. I took him wide.”

Still, “It’s the biggest night of my life,” Abrahamson said. “I hope I can continue on into the meet. I’m still learning. Any constructive criticism I get, I’ll listen to.”

In keeping with the distaff theme, Gina Berry won the third on 23-time loser Oak’s Lil Leo. With no wins and no seconds in his previous 23 starts, Oak’s Lil Leo was dismissed at 14-1 but took advantage of a good post position and a nice ride to break out of the maiden ranks at 5 years old.

Jockey Sean Evans, another new face at Playfair, won two races.

As for the feature, Ward said he came in knowing he had a horse that was “actually 10 lengths the best.”

He settled for the length-and-a-half win and the rider’s slice of the $3,822 winner’s share of the stakes.

“I just wanted to keep him out of trouble,” said Ward, of Yakima, who describes himself as the “fastest computer salesman in racing.” He works in sales when he’s not riding. Today, he has a mount in the rich Breeders Cup distaff at Emerald Downs.

“I figured Che Meza would wing ding and somebody would try and go out with him,” Ward said. “I just wanted to keep my colt in contention. The last couple of times in Auburn (at Emerald Downs) they took him way back and left him with too much work.”

Ward was 5-1/2 lengths off the pace at the first call but only a length and a half away at the quarter pole. Esperit De Bogen, owned and trained by Elbert Applegate of Weiser, Idaho, poked his head in front at the eighth pole and won comfortably over Dunraven Pass.

Despite an encouraging crowd, it was a rough start for the track that had hoped to usher in a new era. The on-site wagering handle was a disappointing $86,079. A total of $158,828 was wagered statewide.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo