Touchuponastar prevails in Gold Cup, sets track record
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Touchuponastar set a track record when winning the $100,000 Gold Cup for the second time Saturday night at Delta Downs. His first win in the race came in 2023.
The Gold Cup shared a card with the $100,000 Magnolia, which Secret Faith won over a late-running Free Like a Girl in what was likely Free Like a Girl’s final career start. Both races were seven-furlong sprints run around two turns, and each was restricted to horses bred in Louisiana.
Touchuponastar ($2.20) covered the distance on a fast track in 1:24.27. The old record for the distance was 1:24.31, according to the Delta website. It was set by No It’s Not on Jan. 24, 2003.
Touchuponastar sat just off an opening quarter in 23.40 seconds, then took the lead through a half-mile in 46.83. He began to separate himself from his rivals while covering six furlongs in 1:11.45. In the stretch, Touchuponastar won off by 5 3/4 lengths over Highland Creek. It was another seven lengths back in third to Good and Stout.
Timothy Thornton was aboard Touchuponastar for trainer Jeff Delhomme.
Touchuponastar is a son of Star Guitar who races for the Set-Hut stable of retired NFL quarterback Jake Delhomme. He has now won 17 of 24 starts and earned $1,520,000. Of his wins, 14 have come in stakes races led by the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds.
Secret Faith ($4) picked up the eighth stakes win of her career in the Magnolia for fillies and mares, when she held off the late bid of Free Like a Girl. Secret Faith was prominent throughout and covered the distance in 1:26.05.
C.J. McMahon was aboard the daughter of Aurelius Maximus for Norman Stables and trainer Jayde Gelner.
Free Like a Girl had to wait for racing room on the final turn to commence her bid, and closed well to finish 1 3/4 lengths behind Secret Faith. It was another nose back in third to Nodah.
Secret Faith has now won 9 of 12 starts and earned $546,022.
Free Like a Girl, the all-time leading Louisiana-bred with earnings of more than $2.5 million, is scheduled to be sold as a racing or broodmare prospect in a Nov. 3 auction at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, Ky., according to co-owner and trainer Chasey Deville-Pomier. She is a 6-year-old by El Deal.
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