Ova Charged catches Cilla in Ladies Sprint
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
Cilla in September won the Grade 2 Prioress at Saratoga and in October finished second in the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland. In a typical year, she’d have easily been the best horse in the Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint. But this year, Cilla was only second-best, run down to defeat by an even faster Louisiana female sprinter, odds-on favorite Ova Charged, in the $100,000 Ladies Sprint at Fair Grounds.
Cilla got the jump on Ova Charged and held a lead at the furlong grounds, but Ova Charged, rallying wide under Reylu Gutierrez, had too much late speed for her. The margin of victory was three quarters of a length, the winning time a sparkling 1:09.92 for six furlongs on a fast track.
Ova Charged, bred and owned by Brittlyn Stables and trained by Jose Camejo, brought a graded stakes resume of her own into Saturday’s contest having finished second to high-class filly Souper Sensational in the Grade 3 Victory Ride at Belmont Park. Ova Charged went unraced between that July 10 start and Nov. 28, when she was ridden out to a 10 1/2-length Louisiana-bred allowance win at Fair Grounds, earning a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure.
Early in Saturday’s race, it looked like the relatively quick turnaround into the Ladies Sprint might be taking a toll on Ova Charged, who raced in mid-pack, churning along with her head held high, as Cilla snugged a good spot closer to the leader and along the rail. Cilla got first run on Ova Charged, but once Gutierrez got Ova Charged ($2.80) out into the clear and straightened for home, she came with a long and very effective run, passing Cilla in the final half-furlong. The top two finished well clear, Strong Beauty getting third, 5 3/4 lengths behind Cilla.
Three-year-old Ova Charged is by Star Guitar out of Charged Cotton, by Dehere. She has four wins from five starts and there ought to be plenty more to come.
Ladies Distaff
Fort Polk, under an assertive ride from Jorge Guzman, collared 6-5 favorite Winning Romance at the three-furlong pole and went on to a two-length victory in the $100,000 Ladies Distaff.
Winning Romance, leading from the start in this dirt route, had just shaken off tepid pace pressure from Eileen Alexandra when Guzman made an early three-wide bid with Fort Polk, who put her head in front of the favorite before the five-sixteenths marker. Winning Romance battled back in upper stretch, but Fort Polk didn’t waver, edging clear for a decisive win, her first stakes success.
Fort Polk is owned by Steve and Pat Roe and trained by Pat Mouton, who notched his first stakes win since 2016 and first at Fair Grounds since the 2009-10 season. Timed in 1:44.57 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track, Fort Polk paid $8.20 to win. Winning Romance was easily second-best, coming home three lengths clear of third-place Net a Bear. Five-year-old Fort Polk, bred by Spanish Cross Stable, is by Behindatthebar out of Military Miss, by Military.