Bauer, Played Hard have momentum going into Locust Grove
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The good fortune Phil Bauer has enjoyed this summer might best be illustrated by what happened when Played Hard eked out a victory in an Aug. 4 allowance at Saratoga.
Some 15 months before, in a defeat Bauer will never forget, Played Hard was beaten the dirtiest nose you’ll ever see in the last race on Kentucky Oaks Day 2021.
“Goes to show how things turn around when you’re going good,” said Bauer. “I was actually afraid she was gonna get beat the same way a second time, but we were lucky.”
Played Hard, owned by Rigney Racing, was both lucky and good in earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure in that last-out score at Saratoga, a gutsy effort that convinced Bauer to run the 4-year-old Into Mischief filly in the Grade 3, $400,000 Locust Grove, part of the big Saturday card at Bauer’s lifelong home track, Churchill Downs.
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Played Hard, with Joel Rosario taking over, will break from post 5 when she faces five other fillies and mares in the 38th Locust Grove (race 8, 4:22 p.m. Eastern). First or second in eight of her 11 career starts, she’ll be looking to overturn a couple of tough beats at Churchill, including not only the Oaks Day loss but also a neck defeat to her Saturday opponent Crazy Beautiful here in the Seneca nearly a year ago.
Bauer had an incredible Saratoga meet, going 6 for 13, with that success further perpetuated Wednesday when Fireball Baby won a restricted stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “It’s been a good run,” said Bauer.
Crazy Beautiful (post 3, Julien Leparoux) is one of two prime contenders in the 1 1/16-mile Locust Grove trained by Bauer’s former longtime boss Kenny McPeek, who also sends out Envoutante (post 2, Brian Hernandez Jr.), a 5-year-old mare with an exceptional local record. From seven starts over the Churchill main track, Envoutante has never been worse than third while posting four wins, including the 2021 Shawnee and the Grade 2 Falls City twice (2020-21).
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One other major player is Lil Tootsie (post 4, Edgar Morales), who’ll be trying two turns for Tom Amoss following back-to-back triumphs in one-turn miles, the latest the Aug. 14 Groupie Doll at Ellis Park. Rounding out the lineup are Gold Spirit and Princess of Cairo.
The Locust Grove, named for the historic mansion and grounds located in the east end of Louisville, is the richest of the five stakes that end the Saturday card.