Stallion Heiress stands out in Lacombe Memorial

Southern California has Unique Bella. New Orleans has Stallion Heiress.

Okay, okay – Stallion Heiress has so far scaled heights no greater than a $50,000 stakes race. Unlike her 3-year-old filly counterpart on the West Coast, she is not the early favorite to win the Kentucky Oaks. But like Unique Bella, Stallion Heiress has displayed fairly freakish raw talent, and she will be a deserving odds-on favorite Saturday in the $50,000 Allen “Black Cat” Lacombe Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds.

Stallion Heiress was one of seven 3-year-old fillies entered in the Lacombe, which is carded for about 1 1/16 miles on grass. Stonetacular, however, has so far started only on dirt and will race only if the Lacombe is rained onto the main track, according to trainer Neil Howard. Howard said he plans to run Song of Spring on turf.

Stallion Heiress, an Ontario-bred daughter of Exchange Rate trained by Mike Stidham for Stallionaire Enterprises, debuted Dec. 8 in a turf sprint, sped to the lead from an inside draw, and pulled away to win by four lengths.

Unable to race while Stidham’s barn was quarantined during the equine herpesvirus outbreak at Fair Grounds, Stallion Heiress didn’t start again until Feb. 11, when she went one mile in the Joseph “Spanky” Broussard Memorial. She was even better in that race than in her maiden win, setting a solid pace that appeared not to tire the filly at all, as she won under wraps by almost eight lengths, galloping out past the wire like a freight train.

“She’s very, very athletic and seems to really do it easily,” Stidham said. “I don’t think we’ve come close to finding the bottom of her. She’s a bit high-energy in the morning, but we’ve made the adjustments. We use draw reins to gallop her, earmuffs, that kind of thing. She can be a little bit on the aggressive side, but she’s controllable. I don’t see her stepping back in this race.”

Rum Go finished third to the talented La Coronel in the Jessamine Stakes last fall at Keeneland but was beaten 10 lengths by Stallion Heiress last month. Perhaps a more appealing exacta partner for the favorite is Pure Michigan, who followed up on an encouraging debut last fall at Kentucky Downs with a sharp Fair Grounds maiden win Feb. 12.

Hard not to Believe in Bertie

Believe in Bertie exits back-to-back stakes wins in the Pago Hop and the Daisy Devine stakes at Fair Grounds. Those were open stakes races, and Believe in Bertie set Fair Grounds course records for one mile and for 1 1/16 miles. Believe in Bertie returns Saturday in the $60,000 Red Camelia Stakes for Louisiana-breds, and she is the 2-5 morning-line favorite for good reason.

“It’s kind of quick back, 14 days, but there’s nothing beyond that race for a little while,” said Brad Cox, who trains Believe in Bertie for the filly’s breeders, Richard and Bertram Klein.

Believe in Bertie knows one way to run – go to the lead, go fast, and go as far as you can – but it has been working.

“I don’t think that’s something you’re going to change with her,” Cox said.

Fair Grounds’s portable turf rail is to be set at 20 feet on Saturday, a pace-friendly configuration, and there probably is no catching the favorite in the Red Camelia. Most likely to finish second are Calamity Jane, who has run well in her two starts at this meet and was beaten only two lengths by Believe in Bertie last summer at Evangeline Downs, and Discreetly Grand, who was third last out in an open allowance race behind the capable front-runner Freudie Anne.