Chocolate Ride brings fondness for local turf into Mervin Muniz

Chocolate Ride has been beyond remarkable on the Fair Grounds turf, having won six of seven starts over the local course. His most important victory came last year in the Mervin Muniz Memorial on the Louisiana Derby card, and trainer Brad Cox is looking for much of the same Saturday. The 6-year-old Chocolate Ride is clearly the horse to beat in a field of 11 in the 24th running of the Grade 2, $300,000 Muniz.

“We’ve really made it a point to take care of his feet,” said Cox, who arrived here Tuesday from Oaklawn Park. “When his feet are good, he’s good. Plus, he obviously has a liking for this course.”

On behalf of Wentworth Brochu LLC, Cox claimed Chocolate Ride at Churchill Downs for $40,000 in November 2014. The manner in which Chocolate Ride has become a standout mirrors the career arc Cox has ridden since his stable dwindled down to two horses in August 2012. Into this week, Cox’s stable earnings for 2016 stood at more than $1.56 million, eighth among all North American trainers.

“We’re just trying to keep all the good mojo going,” said Cox, who turns 36 next week.

Busy time for race-caller

For jockeys, stewards, assistant starters, valets, track employees, and others, the final four-day stretch of the Fair Grounds meet could be very taxing. After 12 races Thursday and 13 Friday, the meet ends with 15 Saturday and 14 Sunday.

For race-caller John G. Dooley, the days are long and hard – but fun.

“A few years back, we ran a doubleheader here, with 18 races in one day,” he recalled. “So, maybe this won’t seem like that much. With the majority of the Saturday races being stakes, and with so many top-tier horses, it’s actually very exciting.”

This will be the 12th Louisiana Derby for Dooley, a Staten Island, N.Y., native who has been unaffected by the recent turnover in the ranks of North American race-callers that resulted from several notable retirements, including those of Tom Durkin and Trevor Denman. Dooley has been the caller at Arlington Park in Chicago since 2000 and at Fair Grounds since 2004.

“It makes for a great circuit,” he said.

Stakes sponsor has favorite

Once in a great while, the presenting sponsor of a race will effectively hand the winner’s trophy to himself – or herself, as the case might be Saturday when Evelyn Benoit is on hand for ceremonies following the second race, the $60,000 Star Guitar Stakes.

Under her Brittlynn Stable banner, Benoit campaigned Star Guitar, a member of the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame, and she owns the 2-1 morning-line favorite in Sunbean in a field of six in the 1 1/16-mile race.

◗ Most of the elite riders in the Gulfstream jockey colony will be here for the huge Saturday card, including Javier Castellano, the reigning three-time Eclipse Award winner, and Hall of Famers John Velazquez and Edgar Prado. Jose Lezcano, Corey Lanerie, and Julien Leparoux also will be here by way of a direct commercial flight from Miami.

◗ The weather is expected to be beautiful here Saturday, with mostly sunny skies and a high of 78. A 60 percent chance of rain was in the forecast for Thursday morning, but beyond that, it’s all clear sailing.