Ba Dee Yah runs away with Lacombe victory
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For the connections of the filly Ba Dee Yah, it was great good luck that late-week New Orleans rain forced Saturday’s Allen “Black Cat” Lacombe Memorial at Fair Grounds from turf onto dirt.
Ba Dee Yah ran all right in two grass races to begin her career, but was much better on dirt her next two starts, and in the $100,000 Lacombe she was much the best, pulling steadily clear after taking the lead midway around the far turn on the way to a 5 3/4-length romp.
Six scratches gutted the Lacombe, a route race for 3-year-old fillies that was left with a four-horse field. Somehow, despite the lack of opposition, Ba Dee Yah paid a square $5.80 as the distant second choice behind 4-5 favorite Pursuit of Liberty. The prices made no sense: Ba Dee Yah was exiting a solid third in a Fair Grounds allowance race won by Tarifa, who returned to capture the Rachel Alexandra Stakes and is a leading contender for the Fair Grounds Oaks. Pursuit of Liberty in her most recent dirt start had been fifth in the My Trusty Cat at Delta Downs.
On paper, Ba Dee Yah was the superior horse, which she proved out on the racecourse. Ms Quality Control led through splits of 23.84 and 47.78 before Ba Dee Yah and jockey Edgar Morales pounced at the three-eighths pole. The pacesetter offered little resistance, and while Pursuit of Liberty followed Ba Dee Yah’s move, she never came close to getting even and was further outrun through the final furlong while finishing 5 1/2 lengths in front of Ms Quality Control, Emily’s Bullet bringing up the rear throughout.
Carded for one mile on turf, the race was run over one mile, 70 yards on a fast track, Ba Dee Yah clocking 1:42.79.
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Ba Dee Yah, a daughter of Uncle Mo and Pearl Turn, by Bernardini, is trained by Tom Amoss for Gold Standard Racing. The Canadian-bred filly was bred in Ontario by Anderson Farms. She found a sweet spot Saturday at Fair Grounds.
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