Mitchell Road wins Al Stall Memorial; Chaos Theory takes Col. Power
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
NEW ORLEANS – Whether in the morning or afternoon, the 4-year-old filly Mitchell Road just wants to go. Rating behind horses probably will never be her strong suit, but after racing from the lead in her last three starts, Mitchell Road let jockey Luis Saez rate her behind the pacesetting Coffee Crush on Saturday at Fair Grounds in the $75,000 Al Stall Memorial Stakes.
Mitchell Road took the lead at the quarter pole and, thanks to energy conserved during the middle stages, finished strongly enough to hold off the favored Beau Recall by a half-length for her first stakes win.
“I was a little concerned at first because she can be aggressive,” said trainer Bill Mott, “but when she relaxed behind the other horse on the backstretch, I thought things could work out.”
Beau Recall was about 10 lengths behind the leader at the half-mile pole, advanced steadily on the turn, and in upper stretch looked like she could reel in Mitchell Road, but the winner laid down a final half-furlong in a solid 6.06 seconds to get the money.
The top two were much the best, with third-place Coach Whip beaten two lengths for second with an ideal trip. Mitchell Road ran about 1 1/16 miles on firm turf in a sharp 1:41.32 and paid $7 as the second choice.
Bred and owned by Joseph Shields, Mitchell Road is by English Channel and out of Quake Lake, by War Chant. She is a half-sister to Country House, who was to race in the Risen Star Stakes later on the card here.
Mott said he wouldn’t start Mitchell Road again for six or eight weeks. “We’re going to give her some time. Her coat doesn’t look as well as it could. It looks all right, but it could be better,” he said.
Chaos Theory up in Col. Power
The aptly named Chaos Theory sparked a $21.80 upset in the $73,500 Colonel Power to start Saturday’s stakes action at Fair Grounds.
Chaos Theory not only was eligible for a second-level allowance race, he’d won a first-level allowance by just a neck in his most recent start. But trainer Brendan Walsh said Chaos Theory had been training with verve here recently, and he ran down 7-1 Savage Battle to win the Colonel Power, a turf sprint contested at about 5 1/2 furlongs, by one length.
The pacesetting Latent Revenge was a neck farther back in third, with 2-1 favorite Hogy a one-paced fifth. Chaos Theory was timed in 1:03.07 over firm ground. Tyler Gaffalione rode the winner.
Chaos Theory is a lightly raced 4-year-old gelding by Curlin and out of Chaotic Tale, by Tale of the Cat. He won for the third time in just six starts and should have room for further improvement, especially in longer one-turn races, according to Walsh, who trains Chaos Theory for Mark Detampel and Sunshine State Racing.
