Proud and Fearless considered for Houston Ladies Classic

Trainer Larry Jones has won two runnings of the richest Thoroughbred stakes in Texas, the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic at Sam Houston, and could be chasing a third victory come Jan. 28.

Proud and Fearless will be considered for the race, Jones said Thursday. She finished a troubled fourth as the favorite in the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks on Nov. 22. The Zia Oaks was that meet’s richest for Thoroughbreds. Proud and Fearless was always in contention in the 1 1/16-mile stakes and was making her bid in the stretch under Brian Pedroza when a rival suddenly thwarted her momentum.

“He had to really grab her coming down the lane because of a horse bolting off the rail,” Jones said. “We got beat a length and a quarter for second. We felt it cost us that.”

Sandy’s Surprise was a 4 3/4-length winner of the Zia Oaks, and she too could come under consideration for the Houston Ladies Classic, according to trainer Doug O’Neill.

Proud and Fearless came out of the Zia Oaks in good order, said Jones, and is now based at Fair Grounds.

“We don’t have plans for her yet,” he said, “but we always look at the Houston Ladies Classic every year.”

Jones won the inaugural running in 2013 with Joyful Victory, who gave the race immediate notoriety when she became a Grade 1 winner one start later in the Santa Margarita at Santa Anita. Cassatt won the 2015 Houston Ladies Classic for Jones two starts after taking the Zia Park Oaks.

Proud and Fearless is a daughter of Proud Citizen who races for her breeder, Brereton Jones.

The Houston Ladies Classic is a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares that was upgraded to Grade 3 status following the wins by the Jones runners. It will anchor a card of six stakes worth a total of $825,000, including the Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Turf Cup.

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