Salt Bae set for turf debut in allowance

The 3-year-old filly America’s Tale looked like a live 5-1 chance Jan. 13 at Fair Grounds in the Silverbulletday Stakes, but things didn’t go well at all. America’s Tale showed early speed, but beat a steady retreat and was defeated by 25 lengths. Something seemed to have gone amiss, and it had – post-race testing turned up a lung infection.

America’s Tale hasn’t resumed serious training, but her connections, owner Naveed Chowhan and trainer Bernie Flint, have another horse in the same division, Salt Bae, who they hope can take up the slack. Salt Bae was an eye-catching maiden winner Jan. 12 at Fair Grounds and steps up to a first-level turf-mile allowance race, part of a strong 10-race Thursday program in New Orleans.

The card also includes an interesting first-level, turf-sprint allowance for Louisiana-bred fillies, plus two open third-level allowance races, one a dirt sprint for fillies, the other a turf route for males. Highlighting the filly race is the comeback of talented 4-year-old Jenda’s Agenda.

Salt Bae is one of 10 horses in race 7, and though she has made all three of her starts on dirt, Flint intends to start the filly if the race stays on grass.

“She has the pedigree to go to turf, I think,” said Flint, who selected Salt Bae for a $100,000 purchase at Keeneland’s January sale in 2016.

Salt Bae is part of the sire Paynter’s first crop and is out of Agatha, an unraced Distorted Humor mare with a female line running straight into a lot of European turf-distance blood. That Salt Bae has dirt-sprint talent we already know.

Flint said he hoped the filly would perform better than her 10th-place finish making her career debut Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs, but that the race was a learning experience more than anything. Indeed, Salt Bae moved forward many lengths finishing a close second Dec. 12 at Fair Grounds in her second start, and on Jan. 12 she went to the front, opened a lead of seven lengths at the stretch call, and coasted home a 5 3/4-length winner while earning a good 83 Beyer Speed Figure.

There is other speed opposing Salt Bae, and if the filly is not ready to rate off the pace she might have to be exceptional to win. The more established turf form belongs to Deadline, who was a close, troubled fourth in a race like this Jan. 1, and Kabella, a Fair Grounds turf-route maiden winner in her most recent start.

Jenda’s Agenda hasn’t started since last March, but swings back into action in race 6 for trainer Larry Jones, who was a co-breeder and is a co-owner of Jenda’s Agenda and trained her dam, Just Jenda. Jenda’s Agenda didn’t debut until January of her 3-year-old season, and last winter was a slight filly, but she won a maiden, an allowance race, and a minor stakes in her three starts at age 3, and if she has matured and developed would be a handful facing third-level allowance foes in a six-furlong dash. Jenda’s Agenda did draw the rail, which could be tricky, and meets a fairly sharp last-out winner named Nineteenth Street who could offer better betting value.

If race 9, the third-level turf-route allowance, stays on grass, High Noon Rider is the horse to beat. Two starts ago, he found trouble, and last time out gave futile chase to the sharp Chip Leader, who was allowed to dictate a slow pace.