Cavalry Charge rewards trainer's confidence with $72.60 upset in Fair Grounds Stakes
NEW ORLEANS – Many trainers wouldn’t have run Cavalry Charge back Saturday in the Fair Grounds Stakes after the horse had finished ninth, beaten more than 13 lengths, in the Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes here Jan. 22.
Dallas Stewart is not one of those trainers.
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Stewart put Cavalry Charge’s poor showing last month down to a softish turf course the horse couldn’t handle, ignoring the fact that even a substantially improved performance still might not have made his horse competitive in a field as tough as the Grade 3, $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes. And Stewart’s boldness rewarded West Point Thoroughbreds, William Sandrbook, and Robert Masiello with a shocking win as Cavalry Charge just held off Adhamo’s wide late run to post a $72.60 upset under Brian Hernandez Jr.
Valor, sometimes, is the better part of discretion.
“He got muscle cramps after the race,” said Stewart. “He’s got to have a fast turf course. We know he’s a nice horse.”
Adhamo ran a winning race while making his first start since being sold at auction, imported from France, and turned over to trainer Chad Brown. Adhamo broke somewhat slowly, lagged at the rear of an 11-horse field, had nine horses in front of him at the five-sixteenths pole, wound up at least nine paths wide while bearing down on the leader, and came up a head short.
“I knew what was going to happen,” said Brown. “He needed to get more position in the middle of the race to have a chance.”
Brown described Adhamo as “a pure mile and a quarter horse,” suggesting the nine-furlong Fair Grounds was a touch too short.
Halo Again finished another neck back in third after being mildly steadied around the seven-sixteenths pole. Santin, the 5-2 favorite, didn’t accelerate in upper stretch and it was not until Tyler Gaffalione put him to stern encouragement that the colt kicked in, rallying for a solid fourth in his 4-year-old debut. Two Emmys, a 3-1 shot, couldn’t make the lead over Cavalry Charge and retreated to finish 10th.
Hernandez said he was intent on beating Two Emmys to the lead with Cavalry Charge and controlling the race into the first turn. “Once I got to the turn, I was able to give my horse a breather,” Hernandez said. “He relaxes, runs with his head kind of low. You stay out of his way.”
The pace was slow, 24.79, 49.70, and 1:14.10. Hernandez nudged Cavalry Charge forward at the quarter pole and opened a couple precious lengths. Adhamo and Halo Again bore down and just missed.
“The wire wouldn’t come up quick enough,” Stewart said.
Five-year-old Cavalry Charge is by Honor Code out of Sweet Talkin, by Candy Ride. This was his fifth win from 16 starts and his first stakes win. All the gelding needed, in the end, was his trainer to give him a chance.
