Underpressure deserving of payday in Owner Appreciation Cup

The richest race of the Delta Downs meet last month featured one of the season’s most exciting stretch drives, and while Underpressure came out on the wrong side of the photo, he walked away with a good deal of respect – enough to likely make him the favorite for Saturday night’s $75,000 Owner Appreciation Cup.

The Owner Appreciation, for 4-year-olds and up at a mile, is one of two stakes on the program at Delta Downs. The other is the $80,000 Pelican for 3-year-olds bred in Louisiana. The races close out the meet, with the Owner Appreciation restricted to horses who have raced at Delta since the start of the meet in October.

Underpressure exits the $170,000 Premier Night Championship, the richest race of the meet. Mobile Bay won the Feb. 10 feature for his fourth straight stakes tally, but Underpressure made him work for it. Underpressure was relentless through the stretch and ended up second by a nose.

“I thought it was his best race to date,” said Chris Richard, who trains Underpressure for Mallory Greiner. “Obviously, that’s a fabulous horse that beat him. I have so much respect for that horse. He’s a great horse. He’s a millionaire, and for us to just lose a head bob to him. … It could have gone either way, and while it’s a little tough to swallow to lose a big race by a half-nose, overall we’re just tickled to death for his performance. We couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Underpressure will break from post 3 under Delta’s leading rider Diego Saenz.

“This race is very competitive,” Richard said.

Others set to start include Great Minds, a Grade 3 winner; Shareholder Value, who spent some time last year on the Kentucky Derby trail; and Bellarmine, who is seeking his fourth straight win in a streak built at Delta.

Bellarmine exits an optional $40,000 claiming race Feb. 17, and his one-length victory was flattered when third-place finisher Wings Locked Up returned to capture the $50,000 Sam Houston Sprint Cup. Bellarmine goes for Karl Broberg, the leading owner and trainer at this meet.

◗ The Pelican will be run over 6 1/2 furlongs, and Bitsy’s Afleet owns the field’s best last-race Beyer Speed Figure, a 74 earned for a third-place finish to Gladtyousawme in the $120,000 Prince on Feb. 10 at Delta. Prior to that, Bitsy’s Afleet had won back-to-back races at Fair Grounds.

“He made big late runs in a couple of three-quarter races at Fair Grounds,” said trainer Sam David Jr. “He wants to lay back and make a run.”