Elle Z continues to dominate her division with Mardi Gras win

If you have a stakes-quality older female turf sprinter, Fair Grounds is the place to be. The track hosts five races in the division during its 80-day meet.

Elle Z ran in four of them and won her third stakes of the Fair Grounds season with an easy tally Tuesday in the Mardi Gras Stakes.

Elle Z finished second by a head in the Pan Zareta on Dec. 4, skipped the Richard Scherer Memorial, won the Nelson Menard Memorial by five lengths, won the Fred Aime Memorial by a nose over Change of Control, and was 1 1/4 lengths best in the Mardi Gras, which she also won in 2021.

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“She’s been a model of consistency her whole life,” said Chris Hartman, who trains Elle Z for M Bar O LLC and called Elle Z the best filly or mare he’s handled.

Elle Z, a 5-year-old City Zip mare, has won nine of her 18 starts.

“Soft turf is the only thing she doesn’t like,” Hartman said. “Outside that, she puts in an ‘A’ effort every time.”

Hartman said Elle Z will be aimed at the $200,000 Giant’s Causeway on April 16 at Keeneland.

◗ The feature Friday at Fair Grounds is race 8, a first-level turf-sprint allowance race restricted to 3-year-old fillies and open to $50,000 claimers.