Jack Hammer gets extra ground in Louisiana-bred stakes
Undefeated Jack Hammer successfully stretched his speed to one mile at small-oval Delta Downs. Saturday at Fair Grounds, he’ll try one mile and 70 yards with a long homestretch as the favorite in the $75,000 Half Ours Stakes for Louisiana-breds.
Jack Hammer, trained by Bret Calhoun for his breeder, Chester Thomas’s Allied Racing, won his six-furlong career debut in November and the six-furlong Louisiana Futurity in December. On Feb. 4, in the one-mile Premier Prince over a mile at Delta, he stalked pacesetting Marks Promise, nearly was dropped in upper stretch when that rival drifted out and knocked into Jack Hammer’s hind end, yet still went on to a 1 1/4-length score that yielded a career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure. The sharp win came despite Jack Hammer sweating up before the race.
“I’m pretty excited about him, and I like him running out of his own stall. He got a little rattled over there,” said Calhoun. “I think he’s moving forward.”
Jack Hammer and leading jockey Rey Gutierrez break from post 7 and face seven rivals in race 7.
An upset candidate lurks.
None of these Louisiana-bred 3-year-olds have raced beyond one mile and if any of them should relish the added ground, it’s Benoit.
Blowing the break and slow into stride making his career debut in a six-furlong Louisiana Downs maiden on Sept. 27, Benoit rumbled home from last with a sustained outside run, finishing second in a decent field and galloping out a mile in front. On Nov. 11, he cruised to a two-turn, 6 1/2-furlong maiden win at Delta, once again with an eye-catching gallop-out. Back at Delta on Dec. 19 racing 6 1/2 furlongs over a sloppy track he didn’t seem to love, Benoit notched a first-level allowance win by three lengths.
Benoit, by Closing Argument, looks every bit the true route horse. Trainer Greg Tracy sent the gelding to Fair Grounds to get in a work over the track in advance of Saturday’s start. He’d be a strong selection but for the fact Tracy ran the horse for the first time in front bandages Dec. 19, and Benoit didn’t work back for a month after that start. The bandages might’ve been used to prevent Benoit running down in the slop, and given the look of the horse, connections could well have circled Saturday’s start and the 1 1/16-mile Crescent City Derby next month at Fair Grounds as hittable targets.
Race 5, carded at one mile, is the sister version of the Half Ours, the Buttercup's Song.
Free Drop Maddy, Gutierrez once again riding for Calhoun, had a three-win, $225,000 juvenile campaign that ended with victory in the Louisiana Champions Day Lassie. Stretched to one mile Feb. 4 at Delta, she dueled and faded tamely back to fifth. Delta’s not for every horse and Free Drop Maddy can rebound, but she has the look of an early-developing 2-year-old who ought to be opposed in a race like this.
Olivia G, who finished second in the Delta stakes, her first try over a route of ground, figures as the logical alternative, but dig down a little deeper and For Harper, 6-1 on the morning line, looks playable. She ran well in three starts last year without winning, was a closing fourth going six furlongs at Fair Grounds in her 2023 debut, and broke through with a smart maiden win when trainer Sturges Ducoing tried her over one mile Feb. 12. For Harper rallied from well behind a moderate tempo and looked like a winner a long way out. She clearly handles a route of ground and should have pace in front of her Saturday.
Promising horses on undercard
There are some promising young horses in maiden and allowance races Saturday. Race 8 is a 3-year-old filly first-level sprint allowance with an $80,000 claiming option that drew a competitive field of nine, while race 4 is a first-level sprint allowance carded for 3-year-olds but with no sex restriction. Gilcrease, unraced since a debut turf-sprint win at Saratoga holds appeal there. And race 6, a maiden turf route, marks the second start for He’s Got Swagger, who finished like a freight train when runner-up on debut in a Feb. 3 turf route.
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