Brilliant Berti and Lagynos have hit the highest performance level among the 10 horses entered in the Grade 3, $175,000 Fair Grounds Stakes, but you could feel pretty good about playing against them Saturday in the 1 1/8-mile grass race. Brilliant Berti does his best work between one mile and 1 1/16 miles. In his most recent outing, the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile in October at Keeneland, he rallied for third in a career-best showing, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 98. Connections, trainer Cherie DeVaux said, have their eye on Keeneland again, namely the $650,000 Maker’s Mark Mile on April 10. “This race is because of the calendar,” DeVaux said. “He’s ready, and I expect him to run well, but we did want to run here so we can get a prep race for Keeneland.” Lagynos, back from a break of a little more than two months, finished second as the 3-2 favorite last month in the Colonel Bradley Stakes here over 1 1/16 miles. His trainer, Steve Asmussen, did not dispute the suggestion that 1 1/8 miles stretches Lagynos, who has just one win from his last nine starts. :: Big Action in the Big Easy at Fair Grounds! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. That leaves Montador the most interesting horse in the Fair Grounds. The 1 1/8-mile distance is his friend, and as a newly turned 4-year-old – the only one in the race – with just seven starts, Montador brims with upside. “He’s a very cool horse, good mind and talented,” said Michael Stidham, who trains Montador for his breeder, Godolphin. “Without a doubt, a mile and an eighth is good for him.” Montador raced once at age 2, missed the next 11 months, and won 5 of 7 during 2025. He took a tough loss at Keeneland in October and turned in his only subpar showing, a no-excuse fifth in the Commonwealth Turf at Churchill Downs in November. If racing without Lasix had anything to do with his Commonwealth, that’s not a concern at Fair Grounds, where Lasix is permitted. Montador in December scored an easy local win over overmatched 3-year-olds in the Woodchopper, and his strong-galloping positional pace should serve him well in a race lacking much speed. “I think he’ll be in a good stalking kind of position,” Stidham said. “He’s doing great, training great.” Jason Provenzano’s Flying P Stable and trainer Norm Casse claimed Kupuna for $100,000 in September, moved the horse to turf, and already have been rewarded for an astute purchase. After winning a Churchill grass allowance immediately after the claim, Kupuna came to Fair Grounds and finished second Dec. 27 in the Buddy Diliberto Memorial, earning $105,000 in those two races. With a wide, sustained run last month, Kupuna collected a $60,000 check winning the Bradley, but even holding his current form, Kupuna must prove he can stay 1 1/8 miles. While Kupuna, albeit losing ground, sailed along in the clear, Cameo Performance, stuck to the rail, had to wait for racing room around the turn in the Bradley – then pause again when coming up the fence in midstretch. Once clear, he finished with interest for third, galloping out in front, and his solid course-and-distance third in the Muniz Memorial last March suggests Cameo Performance could sneak into the action. “I was keen to keep him down and have another go because he seems to do good at Fair Grounds,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “He seems like he’s rounding into pretty good form.” Idratherblessed wired the 2025 Muniz Memorial at 86-1 and in December led all the way in the Diliberto as a 21-1 chance. He could shake loose on a slow pace at a price Saturday, while another longshot, Sand Pipes, hit a new, higher level in his last two starts, a third and a fourth in the Dilberto and the Bradley. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Albert Stall Memorial The 5-year-old mare Medoro aced her first test outside California, winning the Marie Krantz Memorial last month at Fair Grounds as the 11-10 favorite. She might not need to run any better to win the $100,000 Albert Stall Memorial on Saturday. The C R K Stable of Lee and Susan Searing, along with trainer Peter Eurton, have their eyes on important middle-distance turf races in Kentucky this spring. Eurton’s plan all along was to run back in the Stall, take March off, and bring a fresh, fit horse to Keeneland and Churchill. “She’s training very well, but we don’t want to fry her,” Eurton said. “Our thoughts were to come back here after four weeks, then give her a little break. She’s kind of a light, tall filly that doesn’t need to be overdone.” Jose Ortiz gave Medoro a good trip in the Krantz and can engineer another one Saturday from post 1 in the 1 1/16-mile Stall, which drew eight others, among them Cupids Crush, who set the pace and held second at 27-1 in the Krantz. Medoro should be favored, with Oversubscribed the likely second choice shipping from Florida for trainer Chad Brown. Oversubscribed showed graded stakes talent as a 3-year-old but didn’t start between November 2024 and November 2025. She ground out a comeback win in the Forever Together at Aqueduct despite pulling herself up as soon as she made the lead, and – as she’d done throughout her 3-year-old season – pulling too hard on the reins during the early and middle stages. “She’s a little tough that way,” Brown said. “With pace in front of her at about a mile, I think this that’s she wants to do. She’s got one quick run to her.” A stumbling start cost Sweet Treasure in the Krantz, where she rallied mildly for sixth. She has a chance at a longer price, though Expensive Queen could prove the stronger outsider play. Expensive Queen won her American debut last spring at Keeneland so impressively that connections, off a mere first-level allowance score, shipped her to California for the Grade 1 Gamely on May 26. Expensive Queen ran flat, finishing fourth, and didn’t start again until Jan. 18, when she once again showed a good turn of foot capturing a second-level Gulfstream Park allowance. “She had some foot issues that were bothering her last year,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “Those are behind her and she’s a different filly this year.” Colonel Power Usually Wrong has turned into an unusually fast turf sprinter, and if he holds his form, no one is beating him in the $100,000 Colonel Power. Carded early as race 3, the Colonel Power kicks off the Saturday stakes action and should have Usually Wrong as a formidable odds-on favorite. Since trainer Robertino Diodoro switched him to turf last summer, Usually Wrong has finished first in five of six starts, winning four stakes and dominating the Duncan Kenner last month at Fair Grounds. He’s fast but rateable, and while Bear River has a better race in him than his third in the Kenner, that still might not suffice to take down Usually Wrong. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.