Fair Grounds: Filly handles class rise

NEW ORLEANS - You'llbeinmyheart ($3) won her third start in as many chances, easily making the transition to stakes racing with a one-length win in the $75,000 Battler Star Handicap at Fair Grounds.

You'llbeinmyheart, a Louisiana-bred filly owned by Vickie Krantz and trained by Gary Palmisano, won a maiden race Jan. 25 by 8 1/2 lengths and a Feb. 9 allowance race by eight lengths. But neither statebred race offered much in the way of opposition for the obviously talented You'llbeinmyheart, and the sprinters she faced in the six-furlong Battler Star were proven Louisiana-bred stakes horses.

Even so, You'llbeinmyheart broke sharply under jockey Robby Albarado, quickly opening daylight on the field, and never was seriously threatened. Stakes winner C J's Star did her best to close the gap on You'llbeinmyheart in the stretch run, but couldn't significantly cut into the lead, falling a length short while finishing 4 1/2 lengths in front of Sunny Scarlett.

You'llbeinmyheart, who ran a very professional race for an unseasoned filly, was timed in 1:10.64 for six furlongs on a fast track. Her time compared favorably with that run by open 3-year-old allowance horses later on the card.