Elle Z cruises in off-the-turf Mardi Gras Stakes

Turf, dirt – apparently it doesn’t matter at this point. Elle Z has simply turned into a very fast filly.

Rained off grass, which appeared to be her preferred surface, Elle Z still made short work of the Mardi Gras Stakes on Tuesday at Fair Grounds.

She got an assist from a clear, easy lead while facing just three foes, but made the most of favorable circumstances turning back an upper-stretch challenge from odds-on favorite Into Mystic to post a four-length victory.

The Mardi Gras, for older fillies and mares, had been carded for 5 1/2 furlongs on turf but had to be moved to dirt and wound up scratching down to four runners. Into Mystic was the one with the best dirt form, but she was no match for Elle Z, who strolled through a slow opening quarter-mile in 23.07 seconds and had plenty left for the homestretch.

Trained by Chris Hartman for J.D. Osgood’s M Bar O and ridden Tuesday by Mitchell Murrill, Elle Z had won her career debut last spring over the Will Rogers Downs dirt track but finished fourth, beaten more than 10 lengths at Churchill in September, making her only other dirt start. That race came before Hartman fitted the filly with a shadow roll, which he said earlier this winter had made a big difference, and Elle Z looked a lot Tuesday like the filly who’d won one turf-sprint stakes and finished second in another earlier this Fair Grounds meet.

She clocked 1:03.81 for the 5 1/2 furlongs on a fast track and paid $6.60 to win. Into Mystic was a clear second, with She’s My Gem and Misty Day completing the order of finish. Show wagering was canceled.

Elle Z, a 4-year-old, is by City Zip out of Court Appeal, by Candy Ride.