Beautiful Trauma stakes bound off 16-length allowance score

Beautiful Trauma was flattered because she was inside speed on a sloppy, sealed Saturday racing surface clearly biased toward front-runners and/or rail runners. Her trainer, Tom Amoss, acknowledges that, but still believes Beautiful Trauma ran big. She won a first-level, two-turn allowance race for 2-year-old fillies by 16 lengths while getting one mile and 70 yards in 1:44.02, 1.07 seconds faster than a race for males at the same distance and class level later on the card. She earned a 92 Beyer for the victory.

“I don’t think that race was based that much on speed and the rail,” Amoss said Sunday morning. “I thought her performance was really good regardless. Her time held up well compared to others on the card. She looks fine this morning.”

Beautiful Trauma, by Tapiture out of the Forest Wildcat mare Wild Debutante, raced around two turns for the first time Saturday. There’s no doubt she’s headed to stakes competition, but Amoss said no set plans had yet been formed. A logical spot would be the Silverbulletday Stakes on Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds.

Asmussen sorting 2-year-olds

Nothing new here – the calendar is flipping to Jan. 1 and trainer Steve Asmussen will have a bunch of freshly turned 3-year-olds to deploy to various stakes races.

Gold Street became Asmussen’s 999th career stakes winner when he won the six-furlong Sugar Bowl Stakes here Saturday by 3 1/2 lengths. Gold Street, who now has back-to-back wet-track victories, hasn’t raced beyond a sprint distance yet but will be considered for the Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 24 at Oaklawn.

Also stabled at Fair Grounds is Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes-winner Silver Prospector, who isn’t far from having his first work since winning that Grade 2 race Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs. Asmussen won the Springboard Mile on Dec. 15 at Remington with Shoplifted, who could be bound for an Oaklawn Park stakes race. Shoplifted isn’t in New Orleans, but Halo Again is. Halo Again has two wins to start his career and capture the nine-furlong Coronation Futurity over Woodbine’s Tapeta surface last out. He worked a slow half-mile here Dec. 15.

► Sir Winston, who won the Belmont Stakes in his most recent start, and Grade 1-winner Hog Creek Hustle are among the entrants in the Dec. 28 Woodchopper Stakes, a turf mile restricted to 3-year-olds.