NEW ORLEANS – Having landed the mount on Ria Antonia for the Rachel Alexandra, Joe Talamo will be riding at Fair Grounds for the first time since winning the riding title as an apprentice seven years ago. The Grade 3 Rachel Alexandra for 3-year-old fillies will be among five stakes, four of them graded, on Feb. 22. That day’s feature will be the Grade 2 Risen Star, the final local stakes prep for the Louisiana Derby. Talamo, who quickly established himself on the Southern California circuit, will be celebrating a homecoming. He’s from Marrero, a suburb on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. “I’m pumped,” Talamo said. “You’re riding in front of all your friends and family. It’s kind of like the old days.” He’ll be staying with his parents. “Hopefully they didn’t turn my room into a workout room,” he said. Ria Antonia, owned by Ron Paolucci’s Looch Racing Stable and Christopher Dunn, will be racing for the first time since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on the disqualification of She’s a Tiger. Paolucci called agent Scott McClellan to see if Talamo would be available. “I’ve always liked Joe as a rider, for sure,” Paolucci said. “He’s one of my top 10. He knows the track, which is kind of a tricky track if you don’t know it.” “I’m pretty grateful he called, because she’s a real nice filly,” said Talamo, who has been studying replays of her races. “She’s got that real sustained run. It looks to me like she’s got a lot of stamina.” Talamo, who will ride in other races on the Feb. 22 card, said that he has had a few opportunities to ride at Fair Grounds since he left for California, but they fell through for one reason or another. “It was funny,” he said. “It never did work out.” He was 17 when he last rode in New Orleans. “Now I’m almost social-security age, 24,” he said.