Evangeline Downs: Star Guitar will take 10-race win streak into Evangeline Mile

Star Guitar’s streak is getting so serious, it’s starting to make trainer Al Stall Jr. sweat. After racking up his 10th straight win Saturday night at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La, the horse has not lost a race for more than a year and a half.

“It’s turned into a situation where it becomes such an event when he runs, for us at least,” said Stall, who trains Star Guitar for breeder Brittlyn Stable. “The expectations get so high I find myself getting little more nervous than I used to. But he always delivers.”

Star Guitar did so in track-record time Saturday at Evangeline. He covered the 1 1/16-mile distance of the $100,000 Louisiana Legends Classic in 1:43.71, lowering the mark of 1:44.24 that Drill Hall set in an allowance on March 4, 2006. Star Guitar on Saturday raced about eight lengths behind a modest pace, came into the stretch four wide, and then was able to get up by three-quarters of a length, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 95.

“He did his thing,” Stall said Monday. “We’ve kind of gotten used to that.”

Star Guitar’s current streak began Dec. 11, 2010, when he won the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds. He has raced in nothing but stakes since, most of them against Louisiana-breds. Saturday night’s race was his first since April 1 at Fair Grounds, when he won the $90,000 Costa Rising and became the all-time leading earner among Louisiana-breds, surpassing the $1.6 million mark set by Happy Ticket. Star Guitar won the 22nd stakes race of his career Saturday and is 24 for 30 overall, with earnings of $1,749,862.

Star Guitar will be going for his 11th straight win on Aug. 11 as Stall said the $125,000 Evangeline Mile at Evangeline Downs is the next scheduled stop for the horse. Star Guitar, who is based at Louisiana Downs, has won the last three runnings of the open-company Evangeline Mile. Stall on Saturday night also won the $100,000 Louisiana Legends Turf at Evangeline with Kissimmee Kyle. The horse was a head winner for Red Oak Stable and is to make his next start at Louisiana Downs. Stall said Kissimmee Kyle is being pointed to the $100,000 Louisiana Cup Turf Classic on the Louisiana Cup program Aug. 18.

◗ Louisiana Downs will feature a competitive pair of optional $17,500 claimers on turf Wednesday, with the fourth race for fillies and mares at about 7 1/2 furlongs and the sixth for 3-year-olds and up at about a mile.