Luckyallmylife scores upset in Holiday Inaugural

Luckyallmylife, ridden by Perry Ouzts, overtook Marquee Cal Gal inside the eighth pole when going on to a 27-1 upset Friday night in the 32nd running of the $50,000 Holiday Inaugural at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky.

Ouzts, 63, gave Luckyallmylife a perfect trip in rallying from eighth in a field of 12 fillies and mares in winning the six-furlong Holiday Inaugural by 1 1/2 lengths over late-closing Miner’s Cat. Marquee Cal Gal, the 5-2 second choice, was another half-length back in third, while Grace’s Treasure, the 2-1 favorite, was never a factor when fifth.

Luckyallmylife, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred filly by Lookin At Lucky, returned $57.60 after finishing in 1:09.85 over Polytrack.

Trained by Bob Gorham for Mast Thoroughbreds LLC, Luckyallmylife now has six wins and six seconds from 20 career starts. The Holiday Inaugural was her first stakes victory and lifted her career bankroll to $150,080.

Ouzts, an Arkansas native who rode his first winner in 1973 at the old Beulah Park, has won 6,862 races through Friday, second only to Edgar Prado (6,983) among active riders and ninth on the all-time wins list.

Luckyallmylife “ran well, really well,” said Ouzts, who was named on the filly only earlier in the evening in place of the filly’s regular rider, T.D. Houghton. “She [was] just running kind of normal down the backside. Then I got to riding her into the turn, and she grabbed that bridle and just took off running.”

The $2 exacta (4-10) paid $587.20, the $1 trifecta (4-10-8) returned $1,298.90, and the 10-cent superfecta (4-10-8-3) was worth $2,661.83.

The Holiday Inaugural is the first of just two stakes at the holiday meet, with the $50,000 Prairie Bayou on Dec. 29 being the second. The Turfway showcase, the Grade 3 Spiral, anchors the three-month winter-spring meet (Jan. 1-March 31) with its 47th running March 17.

:: Get extended Cyber Monday discounts on PPs, digital subscriptions, and more!