Dettori wins local debut aboard Kavod in Kenner Memorial

Jockey Frankie Dettori’s first ride at the historic Fair Grounds Racecourse proved a winning one, as Dettori gave Kavod a perfect stalking trip just behind two dueling leaders before the pair stormed to the lead in upper stretch and went on to a five-length victory Saturday in the $100,000 Duncan Kenner Memorial Stakes.

Carded for turf but shifted to dirt after persistent morning rain Saturday in New Orleans, the Kenner went with seven runners, two of whom were determined to lead. Uncashed broke on top, Bear River came screaming up to his flank, and the two Quarter Horsed to the half-mile pole and into the turn.

Meanwhile, Dettori and Kavod had emerged from the pack to stalk intently from third, and even at the three-furlong marker Kavod looked like a winner. Dettori sent his mount after the pacesetters, caught them at the quarter pole, and never had an anxious moment thereafter. Over and Ollie tried to make a race of it at the three-sixteenths pole but was left reeling in second, Demolition Duke another 1 3/4 behind in third as the early leaders faded to sixth and seventh.

Kavod paid $9.80 as the fourth choice and clocked 1:04.34 for 5 1/2 furlongs over a sloppy, sealed surface.

Seven-year-old Kavod, by Lea out of Weekend Connection, by Pulpit, debuted way back in April 2021 in an early-season 4 1/2-furlong sprint and after eventually descending into the claiming ranks is on his fourth trainer, Joe Sharp. Sharp and the Baron Racing Stables claimed Kavod for $50,000 last June 29, and Kavod has earned that back several times over. A subpar fifth at Oaklawn in December, Kavod turned it around Saturday at sloppy Fair Grounds with a legendary rider on his back.

Stir Crazy takes Krantz

Stir Crazy, with help from an insanely prescient Joel Rosario homestretch ride, rallied to win the $100,000 Marie Krantz Memorial by 5 3/4 lengths.

Saturday morning rain forced the Krantz and the rest of Saturday’s turf program at Fair Grounds from grass onto a sloppy, sealed main track – and that was just fine with Stir Crazy. A capable turf horse, Stir Crazy’s wet-track record now stands at 6-4-2-0.

That might not have been the case had Rosario not cannily picked his spots with a live mount. Stir Crazy broke slightly slow, got squeezed between horses, and wound up near the back of the field into the clubhouse turn and down the backstretch. Rosario saved ground around the second bend as Stir Crazy gathered momentum and closed on the lead group, and turning for home, Rosario and the mare raced three or four paths off the fence, a phalanx of horses in front of them. Rosario spied a hole between two of the outside horses but sensed it would close before committing. He then steered toward the rail, going all the way down to the fence at the eighth pole, Stir Crazy shooting into the gap along the fence just as pacesetting Cupids Crush drifted to the No. 2 path. Things got tight but Stir Crazy got through and prevailed easily.

Cupids Crush held gamely for second, no match for the winner and a half-length better than third-place Strikingly Spun. Off a half-mile split of 48.33 and six furlongs in 1:13.73, Stir Crazy was timed in a slow 1:48 for 1 1/16 miles, paying $6 to win as the favorite.

Stir Crazy, a 7-year-old mare by Vancouver out of Mentally Unstable, by Good Reward, began her career in the spring of 2021 racing in Maryland and Delaware. About 2 1/2 years later, trainer Mike Maker dropped a $35,000 claim on the mare for Paradise Farms and David Staudacher, and Stir Crazy has turned that investment into gold. She banked more than $300,000 during 2024 alone and now has won consecutive stakes, Saturday’s sloppy-track score following her turf victory last month in the Blushing K D Stakes.

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