Play On outgames Hotshot Anna in Mardi Gras

Play On barely held on in the $75,000 Mardi Gras Stakes on Fat Tuesday in New Orleans.

Win machine Hotshot Anna rallied relentlessly through the final furlong of this turf-sprint stakes for older fillies and mares, but Play On, who had taken the lead in midstretch, won a tight photo and was under the wire a head – albeit a short one – to the good.

Eyeinthesky finished 1 ¼ lengths farther back in third and probably would’ve been part of the win photo with better luck. Unbridled Sky, somewhat surprisingly outrun for the lead by A Thousand Reasons, didn’t quite keep a straight line through the final furlong, closing a gap that might’ve opened for Eyeinthesky between Unbridled Sky and Hotshot Anna. Unbridled Sky, who took heavy betting action just before the start to go off the 5-2 favorite, finished a decent fourth. Bell’s the One, a 4-1 shot, turned in a disappointing performance, never coming close to reaching contention and checking in seventh.

Play On ($10) was ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, who gave her an ideal trip, for trainer Brad Cox and Klein Racing. Those same connections scratched Break Even from the Mardi Gras, probably in favor of the Spring Fever Stakes at Oaklawn. Spectralight and the also-eligible Lunar Approach also were withdrawn.

Play On tracked A Thousand Reasons and Unbridled Sky while in hand and in the clear, and at the furlong pole appeared to be well on the way to victory. But she changed leads inside the final 50 yards, perhaps tiring, and Hotshot Anna, a 12-time winner from 25 starts coming into Tuesday’s contest, battled to the bitter end.

Play On won the Pan Zareta earlier this Fair Grounds meet and finished second in two other turf-sprint stakes, of which there are plenty for older fillies and mares during winters in New Orleans. She was timed Tuesday in 1:03.99 for 5 ½ furlongs over a firm course with the temporary rail set at eight feet. Play On, a homebred by Country Day out of Vote Early, by More Than Ready, could run next at Keeneland during April or at Churchill in May.