Fair Grounds: Southern Dude on turf, sort of, for Bayou St. John Stakes

Trainer Tom Amoss and jockey Rosie Napravnik will try to take an appropriate final bow to a successful Fair Grounds meet when they team with the speedy Southern Dude in the $60,000 Bayou St. John, a turf-sprint stakes for older Louisiana-breds that highlights a 12-race card on closing day, Sunday.

Southern Dude returned from a layoff of almost three months to win an optional claimer March 7, his sixth win in 11 lifetime starts. The major concern, though, is whether he can be as effective going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf as he is on dirt, for he failed to hit the board in two prior grass sprints here.

This turf course looks so barren, though, that he might not notice the difference.

The other top contenders among the 14 entered include Su Casa G Casa, who is back with statebreds after finding the likes of Delaunay and Gantry too tough, and Sunday’s Child, a filly who ran an excellent race against open-allowance company in her lone turf sprint and looks like an intriguing turn-back play.

Yonaguska Storm would be making his first start on turf, but his pedigree indicates that he’ll handle it. He comes off a runaway win against softer.