Sharp barn looks to stay red-hot in new year

In the endless form cycle that is horse racing, Joe Sharp’s Fair Grounds barn got caught in an early-December trough. “We went through a bit of a lull,” Sharp said.

The lull ended during the past week like a New Year’s Eve fireworks display. From 19 runners between Dec. 27 and Wednesday, Sharp notched 7 wins, 1 second, and 2 third-place finishes. Filter the results to horses ridden by de facto stable jockey Adam Beschizza, and the record is 16-7-1-2. The hot streak has propelled Sharp to the top of the Fair Grounds trainer standings with a one-win lead, 18-17, over Brad Cox. Beschizza, through Tuesday, trailed leading jockey James Graham by one win, 30-29.

One noteworthy December winner, Malpais, preceded all the late-month winning for Sharp. A distant third debuting over a sloppy Churchill Downs track Nov. 24, Malpais roared to a 5 3/4-length win on Dec. 22 in a Fair Grounds maiden sprint. Malpais is by Hard Spun, a route influence, and though he has more of a sprinter-miler female family, the gelding will get a chance to stretch out in either a Jan. 17 allowance race or the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 19.

“It’s that time of year,” said Sharp. “With a 3-year-old, you’ve got to at least try it. How far he wants to run, I’m not sure, but I think the horse will do two turns.”

Also headed for a two-turn debut is Louisiana-bred 3-year-old filly Midnight Fantasy, who ran her career mark to 3 for 3 with a blowout score as the 1-20 favorite Dec. 29 in the fillies’ division of the Louisiana Futurity. Sharp said Midnight Fantasy, a daughter of Midnight Lute, will start next in either the Jan. 19 Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds or the Feb. 9 Premier Night Starlet, a one-mile race at Delta Downs.

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