Ruffina an interesting entry in turf allowance

A pair of two-turn allowance races, the first on dirt for older males, the second for females on turf, headline Thursday’s nine-race program at Fair Grounds.

The dirt-race is one rung higher up the class ladder than the turf race, and is for second-level allowance horses or $40,000 claimers. But perhaps the most interesting horse on the card is in the turf race.

The first-level allowance, carded for about 1 1/16 miles as race 8, marks the second start for Ruffina since she was brought from England by the Don Alberto Stable and turned over to trainer Brad Cox. Four-year-old Ruffina raced three times on English all-weather surfaces when launching her career late in 2017, and had been away for more than a year when Cox brought her back into action in a Jan. 17 maiden turf race at Fair Grounds.

Ruffina broke slowly from the rail and was last of 11 as the leaders went their first quarter-mile in a glacial 25.40 seconds. She and Florent Geroux remained at the back of the field through an equally slow half-mile, gained momentum around the far turn, but were forced to swing to the far, far outside for their stretch run. They eventually mowed everyone down to get up by three-quarters of a length. The visually impressive performance produced a pedestrian 70 Beyer Speed Figure, but a fast number was impossible off such a tepid pace, and Ruffina went her final quarter-mile in 23.16 seconds, strong for Fair Grounds even accounting for a strong tailwind.

Ruffina, of course, faces stronger competition Thursday and has a wide post. Her 9-2 morning-line odds would be fair, but she figures to be bet considerably lower, perhaps below fair value.

“I think she’s okay,” Cox said. “Is she a graded horse? I don’t know. Can she win a one-other-than at Fair Grounds? I think so.”

Cox also entered Sun Studio, an unknown quantity on turf but a clear contender if the race is rained onto dirt.

With due respect to Ruffina, the pick for a mild upset is B’s Ten, who won her second Louisiana-bred allowance condition Jan. 5 with a three-length turf win over the Fair Grounds course. B’s Ten is 3-1-1 from five local grass starts, and trainer Steve Asmussen at this meet has gone 22-8-4-2 with a $3.28 return-on-investment in turf races.

Race 7, the second-level 1 1/16-mile allowance, could come down to Casses Story and Higher Power, who finished third and fourth in a Jan. 12 race at the same class level and distance. Higher Power makes his third start back from a layoff and races with blinkers removed for trainer Mike Stidham. He appears to have more upside Thursday at a better price than Casses Story.