Masqueparade's allowance romp caps big week for Stall

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Everybody has a story to tell about their Kentucky Derby weekend experience. Al Stall’s might be a little more eventful – and fun and successful – than most.

Stall saddled five winners during the opening six-day span of the Churchill Downs spring meet, including a 3-year-old colt named Masqueparade who earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a 1 1/8-mile first-level allowance on the Derby undercard by 11 3/4 lengths, getting his final eighth in slightly under 12 seconds.

Maybe in another era, or with another trainer, that sort of eye-catching romp might have made Masqueparade a wheel-back candidate for the Preakness. But not with Stall.

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Stall said on Monday morning: “Maybe we’ll go in something like the Matt Winn,” a Grade 3 race here May 29, “but no Preakness. His sheet numbers were heading the right way, but who’d have thought he’d do something like that?”

Masqueparade, by Upstart, is owned by FTGGG Racing, with the acronym representing “For The Greater Glory of God.”

“They’re a group of New Orleans guys who all went to Catholic high schools,” said Stall. “They love horses and had talked about throwing their money together for years. We finally went to the sale, got them a horse, and here it is. The guys were absolutely rolling the rest of the day after winning like we did.”

Stall’s other winners included a first-time starter named Portilla, who was up in the Friday finale, a six-furlong maiden-special, to somehow nail front-running Played Hard. It was one of those head-bobbing finishes where Played Hard was ahead before and after the wire.

“The still-photo was about four inches, not one inch, which kind of surprised me,” said Stall.

Two of Stall’s other winners both came in six-furlong allowances, with Sir Alfred James on Wednesday and He’s in Charge on Thursday. His five wins leave him just one behind Brad Cox, the early leader atop the meet standings with six.

Stall’s wife, Nicole, hails from Baltimore, where the couple has spent considerable time, often around this time of year when the trainer had a horse or two to run on Preakness weekend.

“They called me twice from the Pimlico racing office already this morning, but I’ve got nothing to run up there, although I wish I did,” he said.

Stall, 59, said he allowed himself to have a good time Derby Day, as many fans did. Not only was the weather ideal, but lines were virtually non-existent for betting, restrooms, and concessions, owing to limited capacity due to pandemic restrictions.

“It really was a great day in so many ways,” said Stall. “It was old-school Derby. People were really cutting loose after being all pent-up.”

Laughing, he added: “I wasn’t that much better than any of the rest of them. I was a little crunchy [Sunday] and a little foggy [Monday], so I’m pulling into the gym right now to see if I can’t knock some of the cobwebs off.”