Maker making an impact on turf

NEW ORLEANS - Bill Badgett's barn got hot during the last month at Fair Grounds and has jumped into a tie for fourth place in the standings. And, with four wins in 23 starts at Fair Grounds, Becky Maker has been hot enough to jump-start her nascent training career.

Badgett has a live horse, Run to Victory, in Friday's featured ninth race, while Maker saddles Biorhythm, one of her treasured winners this meet, in the eighth. After Badgett and Maker are done, the day winds up with a wave of maiden 3-year-old sprinters in the 10th race.

The card also includes the South Mississippi Breeders' and Owners Stakes.

The Maker-trained Biorhythm took 12 starts to win his maiden, but finally did so Jan. 12 in his first race in four months. The elusive win out of the way, Biorhythm has a chance for two in a row facing a short field of first-level allowance horses at about 5 1/2 furlongs on turf.

"He came out of his last race in good shape," said Maker, who trains Biorhythm for Dogwood Stable.

Maker is coming out of Fair Grounds in pretty good shape herself. With Dogwood as one of her main supporters, she has 14 horses now after carrying fewer than 10 during her first months of training.

"I was 0 for 18 when I won my first race, at Ellis Park," Maker said. "I was wondering if I'd ever get there."

Maker has been striking with live longshots, especially on grass, where she had a horse finish second at odds of about 50-1 before winning the 10th race Jan. 31 with the maiden Takealookatmenow, who paid $114.60 to win.

Off his win, Biorhythm will be no such price. Neither will Run to Victory, who was entered against nine opponents in the ninth race, a third-level turf allowance with a $75,000 claiming option. Making his first start for Badgett on Jan. 13, Run to Victory split horses in deep stretch and drew away to win by almost two lengths, a performance strong good enough to make him a contender at the next allowance level.

Contenders are what the 10th race is all about. The six-furlong sprint drew a field of 12, and there are plenty of live first-time starters to challenge My Calabrese and Suleiman, who finished second and third, respectively, in a tough maiden sprint on Jan. 13. Debuting horses to watch here are Battle Won, Book Note, and Guardian.

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