On Fire Baby solid favorite in Fleur de Lis

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It has been a fun and eventful spring meet at Churchill Downs for the Gary Hartlage stable, starting with opening night, when the trainer sent out a 14-1 winner.

A month later, Hartlage had to laugh when asked the last time he had won a Grade 1 race and a match race in the same meet. That’s how crazy-good it has been for the Shively denizen known as “Red Dog,” with On Fire Baby winning the Grade 1 La Troienne on the Kentucky Oaks undercard and a $5,000 claimer named He’s Dangerous winning a May 24 race that scratched down to just two starters.

Now comes another prime opportunity for Hartlage and his minions to party: On Fire Baby runs back Saturday night as a solid favorite in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Handicap, the top supporting feature to the Stephen Foster on a Downs After Dark program.[bc_video_id:327197:]

“She’s been with us about three years, and the day she came off the van, we knew she was something special,” said Hartlage, who trains the 5-year-old On Fire Baby for owner-breeder Anita Cauley.

On Fire Baby will carry the high weight of 122 pounds when facing five other fillies and mares in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis, a 1 1/8-mile race that goes as the seventh of 11 races (post time, 9:05 p.m. Eastern). Her regular rider, Joe Johnson, will be aboard from post 4.

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On Fire Baby has a high cruising speed that has carried her to six wins from 15 lifetime starts and earnings of $1,082,687. The race shape suggests she will be part of a moderate pace, along with Ondine (post 1, Shaun Bridgmohan, 116) and Fiftyshadesofhay (post 5, John Velazquez, 121).

“She’ll be stalking right on the lead,” said Hartlage. “If she’s anywhere besides there, I will be surprised. But that will be my instructions on her, and Joe knows how to ride her. If he can make his own fractions, that would be really good.”

Fiftyshadesofhay, trained by Bob Baffert, looms the main threat off her last-out victory under Velazquez in the Grade 2 Ruffian at Belmont Park. The 4-year-old Fiftyshadesofhay has 5 wins and 4 seconds from 16 starts for earnings of $946,547.

Flashy American (post 6, Julien Leparoux, 119) is another viable player after getting a brief rest following a gritty score in the Grade 3 Sixty Sails at Hawthorne for Preston Stables and trainer Ken McPeek.

The rest of the field is Molly Morgan (post 2, Corey Lanerie, 116) and Frivolous (post 3, Jimmy Graham, 114).

This is the 39th running of the Fleur de Lis. Last year, Funny Proposition was a 5-1 winner over the heavily favored and top-weighted Royal Delta.