Fair Grounds: Sittin At the Bar takes Crescent City Oaks

NEW ORLEANS - Back in Louisiana-bred company after being outrun against open fillies in the Grade 3 Honeybee at Oaklawn Park, Sittin At the Bar powered past her rivals in the stretch to score a three-quarter-length victory in the Crescent City Oaks on Saturday at the Fair Grounds.

Ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan for trainer Brett Brinkman and owner Dale Ladner, Sittin At the Bar pushed past pace-setter Mischievous Mama in midstretch. Hometown Gossip finished third, another 3 3/4 lengths behind Mischievous Mama, in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies.

“My job was easy,” Bridgmohan said. “I was just trying to be a good pilot, keep her out of trouble.”

Mischievous Mama led much of the way, running the first quarter-mile in 24.02 seconds, the half in 47.34, and six furlongs in 1:12.80. But Sittin At the Bar, moving on the outside, grabbed the lead nearing the eighth pole and kept Mischievous Mama at bay the rest of the way.

In the Honeybee, Sittin At the Bar finished fifth, 14 1/4 lengths behind winner Rose to Gold. “That Oaklawn track just got her really leg-weary,” Brinkman said. “It wasn’t fair to her.”