Louisiana Flyboy, Palmy Bay may rest until fall

Louisiana Flyboy and Palmy Bay, who gave trainer Pat Mouton a stakes double last Saturday at Louisiana Downs, might not see action again until the fall. Mouton is in no rush with either horse, with Palmy Bay having earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 100 for his win in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Sprint and Louisiana Flyboy getting his first two-turn win in the $150,000 A.L. “Red” Erwin.

Louisiana Flyboy, a 3-year-old winning his second straight stakes in the restricted Erwin, rallied from next to last in the off-the-turf race for a Beyer of 79. One start prior, the horse won the $70,000 Lafayette at seven furlongs at Evangeline Downs. Mouton said the next move with Louisiana Flyboy is being discussed with owner Robert LaPenta.

“We could just give him a little rest now and wait for the Fair Grounds,” Mouton said this week. “We haven’t decided yet. We’ll wait and see what comes around in the next month or so.

“I thought he ran a great race. The two turns, with his breeding, I didn’t have too much worry about it. His sire is a Kentucky Derby winner, and the mare was a nice filly, too. He handled the distance well.”

Louisiana Flyboy is a son of Fusaichi Pegasus and the More Than Ready mare Montanis.

Palmy Bay, who races for Steve and Patricia Roe, stalked the pace and went on to a 2 3/4-length win in the Sprint. He covered six furlongs in 1:10.

“There could be some rest in line for him,” Mouton said. “Or we could run him one more time [before] Fair Grounds. It depends on what’s available.”

Mouton will be based at Fair Grounds following the Louisiana Downs meet. He is nearing a milestone of 1,000 training wins since 1976 and was sitting at 996 going into the races Friday.