Cilla surges to victory in Matron Stakes
Cilla is one of the top Louisiana-breds in training as a Grade 2 winner and she put on a show at Delta Downs on Saturday, when she rolled to a 4 3/4-length win in the $100,000 Louisiana Premier Matron.
The race was the card’s first of six divisional stakes for Louisiana-breds. Purses for the races totaled $675,000 and helped make for the richest program of the meet.
In the Matron, Cilla ($2.40) stalked the pace in third as Icy Charlie and Dixie Lady dueled through an opening quarter in 22.66 seconds. Cilla advanced three wide on the turn and motored home to win the five-furlong race for fillies and mares in 59.73 seconds.
“She’s so classy,” winning jockey Thomas Pompell said in a post-race interview broadcast by Delta. “She’s an amazing animal to ride. I just hung on for the ride.”
The track was fast on an afternoon in the mid-40s.
Cilla won her second straight stakes, behind the $75,000 Orleans at the same distance Jan. 7 at Delta. Last year, she won the Grade 2 Prioress at Saratoga.
“She’s a lot like her mother,” winning trainer Brett Brinkman said in the post-race interview from Delta. “She’s just special.”
Brinkman co-bred Cilla with her owner, Dale Ladner. She is a daughter of California Chrome and the mare Sittin At the Bar, a past winner of the Matron for Ladner and Brinkman who overall won nine stakes and earned $705,896.
Cilla has now won 7 of 14 starts and has earnings of $476,000.
Icy Charlie held for second, 4 1/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Dixie Lady.
Free Like a Girl wins Starlet
Another notable filly on the card was Free Like a Girl, who won the fifth stakes race of her career when taking the $100,000 Starlet in her first start at 3.
Free Like a Girl ($2.60) entered the one-mile race off a win over six furlongs in the $109,000 fillies division of the Louisiana Futurity on Dec. 31 at Fair Grounds. On the stretch-out she was prominent, and set fractions of 23.40 seconds for the opening quarter, 48.62 for the half-mile and 1:14.24 for six furlongs before covering the distance in 1:42.65.
“A horse like her makes my job easy,” winning jockey Pedro Cotto Jr. said in the post-race interview at Delta. “Being on her is just fun.”
Cotto was aboard for Chasey Deville Pomier, who co-owns and trains Free Like a Girl. The filly also races for her father, Carl Deville, and Gerald Bruno Jr.
Free Like a Girl won by 4 1/2 lengths over Wholelottamo and is now 3 for 3 at Delta and 3 for 3 at two turns. Overall, Free Like a Girl, who is a daughter of El Deal, is 6 for 11 for earnings of $341,473.
Landry has stakes double
Trainer Allen Landry won back-to-back stakes on the card when Net a Bear captured the $125,000 Distaff and Vodka Gimlet took the $100,000 Prince.
Net a Bear ($7.20) was winning her fourth stakes in her last six starts in the Distaff. She had one horse beat in the early stages, was angled off the rail in the stretch and was part of a cavalry charge to the wire to win the mile race by a half-length over Fort Polk. It was another neck back in third to Snowball, who was a half-length in front of fourth-place finisher Winning Romance.
“The trip worked out great and we got there,” winning rider Timothy Thornton said in a post-race interview broadcast by Delta.
Net a Bear covered the distance in 1:42.08.
Landry trains Net a Bear, a daughter of Awesome Bet, for Maximo Lamarche and Federico Deltoro. She has now won 10 of 30 starts for earnings of $523,870.
Vodka Gimlet ($15.20) rallied for a 2 1/4-length win over fellow Landry trainee Brian’s Iron Mike in the $100,000 Prince. The race was for 3-year-olds at a mile, which the winner covered in 1:41.76. Pompell was aboard the son of Goldencents for Ellen Epstein.
*** Langs Day ($5.40) closed from last to capture the $150,000 Championship for 4-year-olds and up over a 1 1/16 miles. He won by a half-length over Speaktomeoflove. The winner covered the distance in 1:48.23. Ty Kennedy was aboard the son of New Year’s Day for Keith Plaisance and trainer Lee Thomas.
*** Bertie’s Galaxy ($3) set the pace en route to a 3 3/4-length victory in $100,000 Sprint. He covered the five-furlong distance in 58.60 seconds. Jareth Loveberry was aboard the son of Greeley’s Galaxy for Allen Cassedy and trainer Ron Faucheux.