Little Miss Curlin dominates filly division of Louisiana Futurity; Mor Force upsets male division

One huge favorite came through, the other not so much Saturday at Fair Grounds, where Little Miss Curlin dominated the filly division of the Louisiana Futurity before Mor Force zipped to a 10-1 upset over odds-on choice Our Moneyman in the male division.

Mor Force didn’t just upset Our Moneyman, who went to post at 1-5 in the $119,750 colts’ and geldings’ division – he crushed him, coming home 6 1/2 lengths to the good.

Little Miss Curlin, who paid $2.10 as the 1-20 favorite, won by a mere 4 3/4 lengths in the $116,170 filly division, clocking 1:10.64 for six furlongs over a fast track. Mor Force ran marginally faster, going 1:10.41, but Little Miss Curlin had her race aced before the furlong grounds and coasted through the last half-furlong while running her career mark to four wins from four starts.

No one, in fact, has come close to the 3-year-old Louisiana-bred filly, who has stuck to statebred-restricted competition, capturing three Fair Grounds stakes following a Delta Downs maiden, her narrowest margin of victory 4 1/4 lengths. And not only does Little Miss Curlin win every race, she gets better with each start, too.

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On the lead her first two outings, Little Miss Curlin, earning praise from trainer Pat Devereux as well as jockey Jareth Loveberry, ran her most professional race last month in the Louisiana Champions Day Lassie, relaxed and handy while sitting a close third.

Saturday, she settled even better, clipping along in hand and on the bridle, fourth by about three lengths going to the half-mile pole and into the turn. Little Miss Curlin progressed steadily past the three-furlong marker, had nearly reached the leaders turning for home, and with a fifth furlong in a robust 11.63 she put the race to bed. Wickdwithbourbon finished second, well clear of third place Liteupthenite.

Devereux trains Little Miss Curlin for her breeder, Coteau Grove Farm, who mated their good mare Mylady Curlin with Charlatan to produce this talented horse.

Meanwhile, Mor Force, trained by Jayde Gelner for Norman Stables, regained the form he’d shown during his summer form cycle, when he went 2-2-0 from four starts, the last three of those races in stakes company. A distant third, more than six lengths behind second-place Our Moneyman, in the Joseph Peluso Memorial in November, Mor Force didn’t run in the Champions Day Juvenile, which Our Moneyman won stylishly enough to make him a desperately short choice in the Futurity.

Mor Force broke alertly from the rail and jockey Isaac Castillo plunked him down behind a lead pack of four, saving ground into and around the turn. Castillo, past the five-sixteenths marker, came off the fence and outside the two rivals still ahead of him, Mor Force quickly jumping on that pair, taking the lead before the furlong grounds, and finishing things off with a 12.28 final furlong.

Our Moneyman stalked the speed farther off the pace than Mor Force while racing wide and had run into the turn while steadily passing rivals. Between the three-furlong marker and the five-sixteenths pole, the colt suddenly stumbled, briefly losing momentum before quickly picking himself up and gathering stride again. But for whatever reason, Our Moneyman lacked the spark he’d shown three weeks ago, no match for the winner while 2 3/4 lengths clear of third-place Golden Mane.

Mor Force, bred by Adcock’s Red River Farm and Hume Warnall, is by Mor Spirit out of Ready Witted, by More Than Ready, and the odds-on favorite could not touch him Saturday in the Louisiana Futurity.

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