Fair Grounds: Fordubai upsets Louisiana Handicap

NEW ORLEANS – Fordubai stalked pacesetter Grand Contender from the start before swinging out to pass him at the three-sixteenths pole and pulling away to a one-length victory in the $100,000 Louisiana Handicap on Saturday at the Fair Grounds.

Ridden by Robby Albarado for trainer Greg Geier and owner Jim Tafel, Fordubai ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.37. He paid $16.80. Prayer for Relief, the odds-on favorite in the field of six older horses, finished third, a neck behind Grand Contender.

"I got some inside position,'' Albarado said. "I took advantage of it.''

Fordubai, who broke from the rail in a field of six older horses, settled behind Grand Contender as he ran the first quarter-mile in 23.84 seconds and the half in 47.49. Albarado kept Fordubai inside as Prayer for Relief moved alongside as they raced into the final turn. Fordubai had a strong punch left for the stretch.

Fordubai, who won for the fifth time in 11 starts, was racing for the first time since finishing sixth in the Hawthorne Gold Cup on Nov. 30. Geier said the layoff wasn't a concern.

"He'll probably stay here for the next one [the Grade 3 Fair Grounds Handicap on Feb. 22],'' Geier said. "See how he comes back and go from there.''