Fair Grounds notes: Divine Beauty, Albano hard to ignore

When it comes to the first round of Fair Grounds dirt-route stakes races for newly turned 3-year-old colts and fillies, trainer Larry Jones has been the man.

Jones won the Lecomte Stakes in 2012 with Mr. Bowling, in 2009 with Friesan Fire, and in 2007 with Hard Spun. He won the Tiffany Lass for fillies (now the Silverbulletday) with Just Jenda in 2009 and in 2012 with Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can.

And after sweeping the two overnight stakes for 2-year-olds on Saturday with Divine Beauty and Albano, Jones, if all goes well, will have runners again for the Lecomte and the Silverbulletday on Jan. 18.

Divine Beauty, now undefeated in two starts, won the $48,600 Letellier Memorial by 6 1/2 lengths over Street Story, her six-furlong time of 1:10.66 producing a cracking Beyer Speed Figure of 92. Stalking early and surging on the turn, she turned in a different sort of performance than in her Sept. 7 debut at Churchill, where she set a hot pace and held on by a head. Divine Beauty, a Brereton Jones homebred, is by Divine Park and out of a Ghazi mare, and should at least get a middle distance.

“I think there’s some stamina,” Jones said Sunday. “She just has always made me think she wanted a route of ground, and the surprising thing was she jumped out and led all the way first time. The way she ran yesterday was a little more what I thought would be her calling card.”

Albano ran four races after Divine View, pressing a moderate pace on the way to a 1 1/4-length score in the $48,300 Sugar Bowl over Be Well, who had finished three-quarters of a length in front of Albano as runner-up on Oct. 27 at Churchill. Albano, who cleared the maiden ranks Nov. 24, is by Istan and is a three-quarter brother to Mark Valeski, second in the 2012 Risen Star and Louisiana Derby.

“He’s coming to hand,” said Jones. “I think he’s going to stretch out even better than Mark Valeski did. He’s not as aggressive racing as Mark Valeski was. This colt is awful nice to work with.”

Another 2-year-old colt, Divine View, could see action at Delta Downs in the $75,000 Big Drama on Jan. 4, Jones said. Divine View won his debut Nov. 16 at Churchill before finishing sixth in the Remington Springboard Mile.

Asmussen horses impress

Trainer Steve Asmussen got peak performances out of two older horses on the Saturday card, with Daddy Nose Best winning the $75,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial on turf by 3 1/2 lengths, and Prayer for Relief coming home 6 1/4 lengths the best in the $74,250 Tenacious, a dirt route. Both horses ran fast and earned career-best Beyer Speed Figures: Daddy Nose Best a 103 for the Diliberto, Prayer for Relief a 106 in the Tenacious.

Daddy Nose Best, who rallied from 11th to win going away, benefited from a hot pace and firm turf conditions. Asmussen said he initially had envisioned the Diliberto as a stepping-stone to the $200,000 Connally Turf Cup on Jan. 25 at Sam Houston, but that Daddy Nose Best’s sharp run in his Fair Grounds grass debut had put future plans in at least a slightly different light. There are three more turf-route races that fit Daddy Nose Best at the Fair Grounds meet: the $125,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley on Jan. 18, the $150,000 Fair Grounds Handicap on Feb. 22, and the $400,000 Mervin Muniz on March 29.

“He ran so well we’ll play it by ear,” Asmussen said.

Prayer for Relief, rebounding smartly from a subpar ninth-place finish in the Grade 1 Clark last month, also shined in his Fair Grounds debut. The next logical local spot for him would be the $100,000 Louisiana Handicap on Jan. 18.

“He obviously ran well over the racetrack, so he’ll stay in New Orleans right now,” said Asmussen. “We’ll see how he trains off of the race, but it’s very possible he runs in [the Louisiana].”

Sum of the Parts has options

Sum of the Parts’s first turf win, in the $75,000 Bonapaw on Saturday, opened new doors for the colt, but trainer Tom Amoss said Sunday he wasn’t yet sure where Sum of the Parts would next start.

Amoss has another sprinter, Delaunay, who has run top races before on the Fair Grounds main track. Delaunay, forced to miss the Thanksgiving Handicap because of a minor illness, worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 over a sloppy track Sunday.

Class Included back to dirt

Class Included won her first turf race when she captured the Blushing K. D. on Saturday, but a return to dirt seems likely. Ron Faucheux, who trains Class Included for Brittlyn Stable, said Class Included will be seriously considered for the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic on Jan. 25 at Sam Houston.