Delaunay dominates Thanksgiving Handicap

Delaunay turned back the clock Thursday in New Orleans.

Not that he ever has declined precipitously, but the Delaunay who won the Thanksgiving Handicap at Fair Grounds looked a lot like the Delaunay who for a spell in 2012 and 2013 might have been the best sprinter in the country.

Whizzing easily to the lead and over to the rail despite breaking from an outside post, Delaunay raced in hand and in control through splits of 21.79 and 45.15 seconds under jockey James Graham. He put away the chasers turning for home, and victory never looked the least bit in doubt.

Delaunay raced by himself to the wire, stopping the timer while seven lengths clear of his nearest pursuer and clocking 1:09.05 for six furlongs over a fast main track producing moderate to slow times early at this meet.

It was Delaunay’s second win in the $60,000 Thanksgiving. He also won the race in 2012. Owned by Maggi Moss and trained by Tom Amoss, who claimed the gelding for $40,000 in May 2012, Delaunay won for the 17th time in 48 starts.

Take it Like a Man finished a distant second, and Nates Mineshaft was third, while two-time Thanksgiving winner Gantry faded out of the frame. The heavy favorite, Delaunay paid $4 to win.

“I think its lost on people he’s a 7-year-old getting ready to be 8,” Amoss said. “He takes care of himself. He knows what to do. You can see at the eighth pole he knew the race is over.”

And so could everyone else.