Ours to Run ends hiatus with solid Happy Ticket triumph

Ours to Run’s first race since May 26 probably was the best of her life.

The 4-year-old filly returned from nearly a half-year away from racing Sunday at Fair Grounds and won the $50,000 Happy Ticket Stakes by 8 3/4 lengths. Trainer Larry Jones, who improved the filly when he took over her training about a year ago, had her finely tuned for her comeback.

Ours to Run broke from the outside stall in an eight-horse field and lost a lot of ground around the far turn while stalking the pace. Jockey Gabriel Saez kept his mount wide and in the clear – and that was a fine plan. Ours to Run, despite losing all the ground while four paths from the fence, nevertheless poked her head in front at the quarter pole, and it wasn’t long before that margin considerably increased. Ours to Run blistered her fifth furlong in 11.34 seconds and finished things off with a final furlong in 12:20. Off a half-mile split of 45.88, she was timed in a sharp 1:09.42 for six furlongs on a fast track.

My Miss Chiff, who got somewhat bottled up stalking the pace along the inside, eked out a runner-up finish by a nose over Shakopee Town, who set a pressure pace while stuck along the fence and ran creditably in defeat while in a different class than the winner.

Ours to Run ($7.40) raced mainly in Kentucky and Ohio early in her career but came to Jones late in 2017 for a winter at Fair Grounds, making the most of her status as a Louisiana-bred. She won half of her six starts last winter and spring, but exceeded that form with her powerhouse run Sunday, though it’s fair to wonder how the Happy Ticket might affect her performance next month in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint in 20 days.

Ours to Run is a 4-year-old filly by Half Ours out of Brown Eyed Baby, by Mineshaft. Jones trains her for Colonel Thoroughbreds LLC.