Finley'sluckycharm set to try turf in Mardi Gras Stakes

Finley’sluckycharm was one of the best older female sprinters in North America during 2017, and she is set to launch her 2018 campaign on Tuesday at Fair Grounds in the Mardi Gras Stakes.

Finley’sluckycharm was one of 15 entrants (12 in the field’s main body, three more as also-eligibles) in the Mardi Gras, a $75,000 race scheduled to go off at 4:35 p.m., right in the heart of Fat Tuesday revelry in the Mardi Gras epicenter. The Mardi Gras is carded for 5 1/2 furlongs on turf and would mark Finley’sluckycharm’s first grass race, but there is rain in the forecast starting Friday and extending all the way through Mardi Gras, and the Tuesday feature could easily wind up on dirt.

Finley’sluckycharm is by Twirling Candy and actually has a strong turf pedigree through her female family. Her dam, Day of Victory, was a French turf horse, and Finley’sluckycharm’s half-sister Golden Orb showed talent as a 2-year-old turf filly for trainer Christophe Clement last year.

On dirt, Finley’sluckycharm is a known quantity – and a good one. After ending her 2016 campaign with a second in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes, Finley’sluckycharm won three in a row, including two stakes, finished second in the Honorable Miss at Saratoga, and won the Thoroughbred Club of America at Keeneland. She ran well below form finishing ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, and trainer Bret Calhoun and owner Carl Moore hope Finley’sluckycharm’s 2018 season ends with a stronger Breeders’ Cup showing at Churchill Downs, where she has demonstrated a special fondness for the racing surface.

Calhoun had considered waiting until March for Finley’sluckycharm’s 5-year-old debut, but the mare came to hand quickly after returning to the work tab Jan. 7.

“I knew this race was out there, but I didn’t want to push that direction if she didn’t take us there,” Calhoun said. “We can get a race under her belt and have plenty of time between this one and the next without having to pound on her.”

If all goes to plan, Finley’sluckycharm will make her second start of the year in the Madison Stakes at Keeneland in April.