Legs O'Neal escapes nemesis

Legs O'Neal, who has been chasing top-class Louisiana-bred Happy Ticket, finally gets away from that one Saturday night in a competitive edition of the $50,000 Camelia at Delta Downs in Vinton, La.

The seven-furlong race will be run around two turns, and it is restricted to fillies and mares bred in Louisiana. Others in the race include stakes winners Kylers Midge and Misty Glo, and wire-to-wire threat Where Is My Daddy.

Legs O'Neal has faced Happy Ticket in her last two starts, running a troubled sixth to her in the $75,000 Magnolia at Delta on Nov. 12, and third to her in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies at Fair Grounds on Dec. 11.

Legs O'Neal has natural speed and should be tracking Where Is My Daddy in the early stages of the Camelia. Corey Lanerie has the mount on Legs O' Neal, who races for Dennis Barcelona and is trained by Wes Hawley.

Kylers Midge is another who figures to track Where Is My Daddy. Kylers Midge stretches back out around two turns after finishing fourth in a five-furlong allowance, and before that was second to Happy Ticket in the Magnolia. Ricky Faul has the mount for trainer David Baker.

Where Is My Daddy looks for her first two-turn win in the Camelia. Leading rider Guy Smith, who topped the $1 million mark in mount earnings at the meet last week, has the call from trainer Cole Norman. Smith has been the hottest rider at Delta, and last week won nine races in four days, with four wins coming last Friday.