Paul McGee, who trains Lotsandlotsofcandy for Jay Em Ess Stable, harbored interest in seeing what the filly could do in her turf debut Saturday at Fair Grounds in the Nelson Menard Memorial. But casting an eye toward a rainy New Orleans forecast, McGee also said last week he wouldn’t at all feel bad if the Menard was rained off grass and onto dirt. It did, and while Lotsandlotsofcandy’s first start on grass will have to wait, the lightly raced 5-year-old became a stakes winner after taking the Menard by 4 1/2 lengths. Big Trouble, the horse to beat on grass, made a decent run from the back of a field that scratched down to six after the surface switch, finishing second by one length over third-place Sporting Lady while no match for the winner. Lotsandlotsofcandy paid just $3.40 in her stakes debut, clocking 1:03.11 for 5 1/2 furlongs over a surface that began the day rated sloppy, but had been upgraded to “good” by the time the Menard went as race 8. Lotsandlotsofcandy, a homebred by Twirling Candy out of Lotsandlotsofhope, by Tiznow, showed talent from the start, though not in her career debut two springs ago, which she lost by more than 50 lengths, coming out of the race a sick horse. Lotsandlotsofcandy rebounded with flashy maiden and allowance wins in her next two races, then went on the shelf for 10 months. She made her comeback this past May, finishing second in a second-level allowance but lugging out so badly that McGee figured something had to be amiss. The filly got another 90 days off, returned to racing again Nov. 30, cleared that second allowance condition, albeit in less eye-catching fashion than in her first two wins, and ran her career mark to 6-4-1-0 with her Menard victory. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. While Lotsandlotsofcandy knows basically one way to run, namely fast and forward, jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., breaking from the far outside, eased his mount onto the lead rather than rocketing there. No one ever got close to him, though Lotsandlotsofcandy did drift out considerably through the final furlong. Might Lotsandlotsofcandy prove equally capable on turf? Could be. But dirt worked just fine for her Saturday at Fair Grounds. Bob Wright Memorial Blue Fire in her third try this Fair Grounds meet finally took the measure of Secret Faith, beating her Louisiana-bred filly-sprint rival by 2 1/4 lengths in the $100,000 Bob Wright Memorial earlier Saturday. Blue Fire ($4.20) is the only Louisiana-bred to have defeated Secret Faith, having done so by a nose 13 months ago. Jose Ortiz, riding for trainer Steve Asmussen and owners Stonestreet Stable and Peter Leidel, put Blue Fire right on the lead after breaking from post 1, and Blue Fire never looked back, drifting out the final furlong and a half but still coming home a comfortable winner over the 3-5 favorite. Four-year-old Blue Fire, who ran six furlongs on a muddy track in 1:10.09, is by Aurelius Maximus out of Mystic Blue, by Maimonedes, and was bred in Louisiana by J. Adcock and Nathan Granger. The Wright’s companion race, the $100,000 Gary Palmisano Sr. Stakes, lost its favorite and likely leader when Geaux Sugar was scratched, and in his absence 7-5 favorite El Dinero came careening down the center of the track to win by three-quarters of a length over pacesetting second-choice Hay Jude. El Dinero ran six furlongs over a good track in 1:10.34 and paid $4.80. Jareth Loveberry rode the winner for trainer Pat Devereux and owner Tav Enterprises. Five-year-old El Dinero is by El Deal out of Money For Makeup, by Forestry, and was bred by Adcock and Hume Wornall. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.