Oeuvre triumphs in Nelson Menard; Ova Charged rolls in Bob Wright

Oeuvre won an off-turf renewal of the $100,000 Nelson Menard Memorial but was not the most impressive mare who sprinted Saturday at Fair Grounds.

Ova Charged was back to her graded-stakes-class best in the $100,000 Bob Wright Memorial for older Louisiana-bred fillies and mares, dashing off to a 6 3/4-length win while running six furlongs over a fast dirt track in a sharp 1:09.75.

That will earn Ova Charged a meaningfully higher Beyer Speed Figure than Oeuvre, who edged clear late from 36-1 pacesetter Sweet Temperament to post a 1 3/4-length victory in a race originally scheduled for 5 1/2 furlongs on dirt. Oeuvre, who paid $3.80 as the favorite, was timed in 1:04.09 one race after the Bob Wright and would not have clocked a time as fast as Ova Charged had she gone six furlongs.

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Oeuvre’s surface versatility served her well Saturday as she won for the 14th time in an 18-race span starting in 2022, when Chris Block took over her training. While she is a faster horse on turf, Oeuvre now sports a 12-9-2-1 record in dirt races.

On Saturday she stalked the pace about three paths off the fence under Jareth Loveberry, eventually wearing down a drifting-out Sweet Temperament, who bested Carimba by a half-length for the place. Bred and owned by Richard Perkins, Oeuvre is a daughter of Shackleford and Love this Kitten, by Kitten’s Joy. She won the Menard for the second year in a row.

Not only did Ova Charged run relatively faster than Oeuvre, she was considerably faster than Bron and Brow, who won the $100,000 Gary P. Palmisano Memorial Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths, running six furlongs in 1:10.55. Bron and Brow, the even-money favorite in a Louisiana-bred sprint, got an ideal stalking trip several lengths behind a contested pace. Jockey Reylu Gutierrez kept his mount inside until upper stretch, where he squeezed between Autumns Strong Man and Not on Herb and ran down Mike J to post a popular victory.

Bron and Brow ($4) is trained by Mark Casse for owner Gary Barber and is a 5-year-old gelding by Gormley out of Changing Vista, by Changeintheweather.

Ova Charged, though, was the star of the day. Making her second start since owner-breeder Brittyln Stable transferred her from Jose Camejo’s stable to trainer Shane Wilson, Ova Charged went a half-mile in a snappy 45.18 while racing on the lead and proceeded to crush the competition. She had the Bob Wright won at the eighth pole and turned in her most impressive performance since March 2022. Jose Guerreo put Ova Charged right on the lead, and she had no trouble disposing of 11-10 favorite Free Like a Girl, who wound up third, two lengths behind Beleout.

Six-year-old Ova Charged won for the 10th time in 13 starts and is 2 for 2 since joining Wilson’s barn this past fall. In July 2021, Ova Charged, by Star Guitar out of the Dehere mare Charged Cotton, finished second in the Grade 3 Victory Ride at Belmont Park. That is a higher level than anyone she faced Saturday ever has hit, and Ova Charged’s inherent superiority was on full display.

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