Shipping pays off for Delahoussaye

NEW ORLEANS - In trainer Glenn Delahoussaye's mind, training at the Evangeline Training Center in Carencro, La., sets up his horses perfectly for racing at Fair Grounds.

Delahoussaye's good start would indicate that he is doing something right, and he'll be favored to win again when he sends Clear Sailing in Sunday's feature race, the ninth, a first-level allowance at a mile and 40 yards for fillies and mares.

Delhoussaye, 52, has made the Evangeline Training Center his headquarters for his 29 horses in training. He considers it an ideal location for sending horses to all the tracks in Louisiana.

The former home of Evangeline Downs, the site was converted into a training center in 2005 and its features include onsite aqua-therapy. Of all the features at Evangeline, Delahoussaye values the calm that pervades there.

"Evangeline is a great facility to train, and the horses rest so much better when they are not on the track," Delahoussaye said. "The sounds of the afternoon races at racetracks stress horses out. Horses are very sensitive creatures."

Delahoussaye has been training for 28 years and learned the trade by following his father, trainer Junius Delahoussaye, to tracks all over Louisiana.

Now based year round at Evangeline, Delahoussaye's system of shipping horses into Fair Grounds is working, with 3 winners and 7 in-the-money finishes from 14 entries.

"I have been very fortunate to have a lot of luck at the Fair Grounds, but I think it is also because we bring our best stock," Delahoussaye said. "I have a special place in my heart for the Fair Grounds, because it was my dad's favorite track."

His entry in the ninth race, Clear Sailing, has benefited from the training center, using the facilities as a springboard back into racing after more than a year off.

"She had an injury to her rear hoof, and they had to perform a section," Delahoussaye said. "The owners gave her all the time she needed to heal."

In her first race for Delahoussaye, on Dec. 28, Clear Sailing shipped into Fair Grounds and ran big, winning a six-furlong maiden special weight going away by more than four lengths. It was her only race as a 3-year-old, and Delahoussaye said it confirmed her talent.

"She showed who she was in that race," he said. "She's coming into this race super, and I couldn't be more pleased with her progress."