Treys Midnite Moon, Monte Man stars of Louisiana Legends card
There will be feasting if Treys Midnite Moon wins his second straight stakes race Saturday night in the $70,000 Louisiana Legends Turf at Evangeline Downs.
“When that horse wins, everybody eats,” trainer Corale “Bunky” Richards said of the generous celebrations put on by owner Tom Snakenberg.
The Turf is one of six divisional Louisiana-bred stakes on the evening, with each worth $70,000. Purses for the races were boosted by $10,000 each, and their cumulative value of $420,000 for the annual Louisiana Legends program makes for the richest card of the season. First post is 5:50 p.m. Central.
Treys Midnite Moon could go favored over nine others in the 1 1/16-mile Turf, which includes Mageez, a past winner of the race, and Grand Luwegee, a two-time stakes winner. Treys Midnite Moon comes off a win on the main track May 15 in the $60,000 Evangeline Downs Classic, getting up by a half-length under Timothy Thornton.
“Timmy saved ground,” Richards said. “Timmy stayed on the rail and the rail opened up and he came through. I did some screaming when I saw him coming up the rail. It was very exciting.”
It was the first stakes victory for the 6-year-old Treys Midnite Moon, as well as career win No. 14.
“He’s lost a couple of stakes by a head and a neck against some really nice horses,” Richards said. “It was heartbreaking a few times. A couple of jumps and he’d have won a couple of stakes already.”
Those close calls include a runner-up finish to Shang in last year’s Louisiana Legends Turf. Treys Midnite Moon has registered two of his five career turf wins at Evangeline. He will break from post 5 under Thornton.
“I kind of prefer the turf with him, but it doesn’t make any difference if it comes off the turf,” Richards said.
Snakenberg will be putting on a fifth celebratory feast this year if Treys Midnite Moon improves his 2021 record to 5 for 8 on Saturday.
“He really appreciates what he’s got,” Richards said.
Mageez is coming off a third-place finish in the Evangeline Downs Classic. Ashley Broussard has the mount from post 9 for Double Dam Farm and trainer Delmar Caldwell.
Monte Man seeks third Sprint
Monte Man will attempt to win the Sprint for the third time. Monte Man won the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint in December, and also won an allowance in February and was third by a half-length in the $100,000 Costa Rising in March.
He and his trainer, Ron Faucheux, come into the race off a memorable meet at Fair Grounds.
“He really had a great Fair Grounds meet,” Faucheux said. “I thought even the Costa Rising, it was a winnable race for him. He just got going a little late.
“He’s going into this race just as good as he was going into his Fair Grounds races. I think if he can repeat those kind of performances, it should put him right there, if not right in the winner’s circle.”
Faucheux, a 38-year-old native of New Orleans, won his first Fair Grounds title at the meet that wrapped in March.
“It’s definitely the highlight of my career and definitely a life goal,” he said of the title at his home track. “The life goal is checked off the list. I’ve got a lot less pressure on myself at this point.”
Monte Man won the Louisiana Legends Sprint at 5 and 6 and was third last year to Laughingsaintssong, who returns Saturday. Monte Man will be looking for career win No. 18.
“He’s very intelligent,” Faucheux said. “He’s super easy to train. He doesn’t put more stress on himself than he needs to, and I’m convinced that there are horses that know where the wire is, and he’s one of them.”
Ivory Sisters Racing owns Monte Man, an earner of more than $700,000. Gerard Melancon, who coming into Thursday’s card was five wins from 5,000 victories, has the mount from post 4 in the 10-horse Sprint.
◗ Unanimously could go favored in the Cheval for 3-year-olds at a mile on turf off his sixth-place finish in the $300,000 Oaklawn Stakes. The winner of that race, Fulsome, came back to take the Matt Winn at Churchill Downs and the runner-up, Warrant, returned to take the Texas Derby at Lone Star Park.
◗ Snowball cuts back to one turn for the Mademoiselle after winning the Evangeline Downs Distaff.
◗ Offspring will be looking for her second straight stakes win in the Turf Distaff.
◗ Winning Romance finally shakes the undefeated Australasia in the Soiree at a mile on turf.