Exodus starting to put it all together

Trainer Larry Jones sent out a noteworthy 3-year-old maiden winner at Fair Grounds on Sunday, when Exodus won a six-furlong maiden race by more than eight lengths despite being eased up the final half-furlong. He was timed in 1:10.08, which produced a 91 Beyer Speed Figure.

Exodus, by Medaglia d’Oro and out of the mare Stop Traffic, is owned by Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farms. He was third when debuting at Keeneland’s fall meet and then finished a distant third with trouble when heavily favored Nov. 23 at Fair Grounds.

“He has a few quirks, but I think we have him on the right track now,” Jones said.

Jones wants to see how far Exodus wants to run but plans to stretch him out gradually and is pointing Exodus to the $50,000 Allen’s Landing Stakes, a seven-furlong race at Sam Houston Race Park on Jan. 24. The Allen’s Landing is on the same card as the $400,000 Sam Houston Ladies Classic, to which Jones is pointing the 4-year-old filly Cassatt.

Meanwhile, Albano, second in the Risen Star and Lecomte stakes last winter at Fair Grounds, is just about set for his 4-year-old debut, which is likely to come in the Louisiana Handicap on Jan. 17, Jones said. Albano, last seen finishing third Sept. 1 in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing, has worked six times since shipping to Fair Grounds.