Way to Be Marie is looking to win the $150,000 Tom Benson Memorial for a second straight year on Saturday at Fair Grounds but will do so with entirely new connections. Following her 4-year-old campaign, which ended with a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Long Island at Aqueduct, Way to Be Marie was sold at the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale for $750,000. She was purchased by Marc Gunderson’s Twin Oaks Bloodstock and turned over to trainer Eddie Kenneally. Way to Be Marie had previously been owned by Robert LaPenta and Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables and was trained by Rob Atras. Given Way to Be Marie’s 3-for-5 record at Fair Grounds – she is 0 for 10 with four seconds elsewhere – getting the 5-year-old daughter of Not This Time started in this spot made sense. “She was pretty fit at the time we got her, she hadn’t been out of training,” Kenneally said. “We went right along with her, just pointing to this race all the way through. She won it last year, she likes Fair Grounds, this is a logical spot for her to start out the campaign.” :: Big Action in the Big Easy at Fair Grounds! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Luis Saez will ride Way to Be Marie from post 3. Ready for Shirl won the Grade 2 Canadian at Woodbine when in the barn of Roger Attfield. Following an 11th-place finish in the Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf, owner Charles Fipke moved the horse to Dallas Stewart, who has had her long enough to get four works into the 5-year-old mare by More Than Ready. The Benson did not come up particularly deep, which is one reason why Sea To Sky, who is just 1 for 11 in her career, was entered. In her last start on turf, Sea To Sky was beaten just one length by Hear the Queen in the Pago Hop Stakes on Dec. 27 at Fair Grounds. “She’s a filly that has talent, she’s still seemingly figuring it out,” trainer Cherie DeVaux said. Cupids Crush, a Minnesota-bred daughter of Cupid, is 11 for 27 lifetime but is 0 for 6 with two seconds at Fair Grounds. One of those seconds came in the Marie Krantz Stakes where, at 27-1, she made all the pace only to get run down late by Medoro. Costa Rising Nine Part seemed to be doing just fine on dirt, winning his first four starts on that surface before getting beat a neck in his fifth. Away from the races for nine months, Nine Part was tried on turf for his return and handled the new surface just fine, overcoming a slow start to win a Feb. 21 allowance/optional claimer on turf for Louisiana-breds. That performance earned him a spot in Saturday’s $100,000 Costa Rising Stakes for statebreds at 5 1/2 furlongs. Trained by Bob Felks, Nine Part is 4 for 6 in his career. Jockey Jose Ortiz was aboard for those four victories and said the horse is equally as good on either surface. “He’s a little complicated at the gate, so he’s never been a fast horse out of there, he always breaks a little slow,” Ortiz said, when asked about the turf effort. “He did beautifully, same as he did on the dirt, he closes very strong. The horse is doing amazing, so we’re very happy with him.” Nine Part defeated Monsieur Candy and Sassi Di in that turf allowance, both of those horses among the dozen entered against him in this spot. Monsieur Candy was making his first start for Larry Rivelli in that Feb. 21 allowance and in the post parade, the horse reared and unseated jockey Jareth Loveberry, who had to be replaced for that race by Colby Hernandez. Monsieur Candy made the lead in midstretch under Hernandez but could not hold off Nine Part. Rivelli said he didn’t think the pre-race antics and rider switch played a role in Monsieur Candy’s defeat. Loveberry is named to ride Saturday. “I thought we were home free, the other horse ran us down,” Rivelli said. “We’ll let the race unfold the way it does. I think he’s going to run good, he’s doing really good actually.” Sassi Di is a two-time winner on turf, with both wins coming going five furlongs in a 15-day span in May 2024. Many in this field have been running on dirt, at least lately. Strong Promise is coming off a Louisiana-bred stakes win on dirt Feb. 7 at Delta Downs. Hay Jude, trained by Tom Amoss, has yet to try turf in 13 starts. He is coming off narrow defeats in dirt allowance/optional claimers in each of his last two outs. Crescent City Oaks Braken Poppa looms a short-priced favorite in the $100,000 Crescent City Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and 70 yards. A daughter of Aurelius Maximus, Braken Poppa began her career with a runner-up finish going six furlongs. Since being stretched out to a mile, Braken Poppa has won three straight Louisiana-bred races, including a victory in the Charged Cotton Stakes, named for the Louisiana broodmare of the year, by 9 1/2 lengths. “She’s run extremely well in her two-turn Louisiana-bred races,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “More of the same, I hope.” Asmussen acknowledged that Braken Pappa can be temperamental as evidenced by the fact in her scheduled second start, she flipped over at the gate and had to be scratched. Asmussen credited his Fair Grounds staff with working to calm down Braken Poppa. “They’ve done a good job with her, and she’s won three in a row since,” Asmussen said. What’s Love was second to Braken Pappa in a Jan. 4 maiden race and then came back to win her maiden by 1 1/4 lengths on Feb. 28. Thrill Seeker has twice finished second to Braken Poppa, beaten only 1 3/4 lengths in an allowance Jan. 30 before being well-beaten in the Charged Cotton Stakes. ◗ The Crescent City Derby, typically run on this card, was instead moved to Sunday with a field of six led by Our Moneyman, the lone two-time winner in the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.