Midnight Fantasy may be headed to Oaklawn

NEW ORLEANS – Midnight Fantasy wound up getting disqualified from first to second Dec. 14 at Fair Grounds in the Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint, but there was no taking away her fast six-furlong time and the sense she could be a worthy participant in graded dirt sprint stakes next year.

Midnight Fantasy ran six furlongs in 1:10.49 while drifting in and out through the homestretch and, in the justified opinion of Fair Grounds stewards, costing runner-up Minit to Stardom a chance at victory. Whether Minit to Stardom would have been able to pass Midnight Fantasy, as fast as she ran, is a different question. Minit to Stardom, keep in mind, won the Grade 2 Honorable Miss last summer at Saratoga, and Midnight Fantasy’s fast raw time Saturday yielded a high-level 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

It was a career-best performance from 3-year-old Midnight Fantasy, a daughter of Midnight Lute, and though the filly showed promise from the start, her career was compromised earlier this year by an impeded airway. Trainer Joe Sharp said throat surgery was performed to correct the breathing problem following Midnight Fantasy’s race in the Coronation Cup this past July at Saratoga; Saturday’s race was her first start since.

There are no suitable dirt sprint races, Louisiana-bred or open, for Midnight Fantasy here at Fair Grounds, but Sharp runs a string at Oaklawn Park, and that’s where the filly could race early next year.

◗ Midnight Bisou, who will win an Eclipse Award as champion older dirt female of 2019, had her first timed workout since finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff when she went a half-mile in 53.60 seconds on Thursday at Fair Grounds. Midnight Bisou is being aimed at the $20 million Saudi Cup in late February and will soon pick up the pace of her morning work, with another drill tentatively scheduled for Dec. 24, trainer Steve Asmussen said.

◗ If the meteorologists are anywhere close to correct, Sunday’s featured eighth race is going to be shifted from turf to dirt.

The race, restricted to fillies and mares, is a first-level allowance carded for about 1 1/16 miles on grass, and it drew a competitive field of 13. On turf, Clear Vision and Limnery appear to be the most viable contenders. Trainer Tom Amoss always seems to have a live entrant for Fair Grounds off-turf races, and this one is no exception. Charlie’sarchangel would have a chance on grass, too, but looks very much the horse to beat on dirt.