Who Took the Money turns on rockets in Champions Day Turf
It almost worked out perfectly for trainer Bret Calhoun and owner Chester Thomas’s Allied Racing Stable.
Thomas and Calhoun had two horses, Highland Creek and Who Took the Money, cross-entered in two races Saturday at Fair Grounds, the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic and the $100,000 Champions Day Turf.
For the Classic, they chose Highland Creek, sending Who Took the Money to the Turf. Highland Creek, the 7-5 favorite, came up short in the Classic, finishing second, but Who Took the Money took care of business in the turf, flying from the quarter pole to the wire for a 5 3/4-length win.
Who Took the Money had been a solid fifth facing open allowance foes in Kentucky his lone previous turf start, and really took to grass Saturday.
“We had to make some decisions, and knowing this horse’s pedigree, I thought he might be the right one for the grass,” Calhoun said.
Three-year-old Who Took the Money, a homebred, is by Street Boss, an elite sire of turf sprinters and generally a good grass sire, and out of Speights’ Colony, by Speightstown.
Not only did he win by a wide margin, Who Took the Money had only two of nine rivals beaten at the quarter pole of this grass route. Wheeled to the far outside by jockey Deshawn Parker, Who Took the Money ($8.80) finished like a rocket, getting his last half-furlong in well under six seconds for a final time of 1:45.93 for about 1 1/16 miles. The temporary turf rail was set at 20 feet Saturday.
Calhoun also sent out the second-place finisher, Budro Talking, who was two lengths better than Trey’s Midnight Moon.
Would Who Took the Money also have won the Classic? Maybe, but if nothing else, Calhoun and Thomas figured out they have a pretty nice grass horse for the winter.
Sprint
In the 50th race of his career, 8-year-old Monte Man showed that he’s still the man among Louisiana-bred sprinters.
Running down pacesetting stablemate Bertie’s Galaxy, Monte Man won the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint at Fair Grounds for the second year in a row.
“We’re just getting started with him,” deadpanned trainer Ron Faucheux, who also trains Bertie’s Galaxy.
Ivery Sisters Racing claimed Monte Man for $25,000 in September 2017 while the gelding was racing in New York, and, taking advantage of his Louisiana-bred status, Monte Man was sent to Faucheux at Fair Grounds. He proceeded to win seven races in a row, five of them stakes, and now has 15 victories for Faucheux and Ivery.
Monte Man was third in the 2018 Champions Day Sprint and fourth in 2019, but won by two lengths over a sloppy track in 2020 and was up by three quarters of a length, clocking 1:09.91 for six furlongs, in this year’s renewal. Monte Man had a somewhat fallow spell during much of 2020 but has bounced back to his best since his Champions Sprint win a year ago.
“For an 8-year-old turning 9 to stay sound and continue to progress – it’s amazing,” Faucheux said.
Bertie’s Galaxy blitzed through a half-mile in a testing 44.53 seconds, putting away the other speed and briefly breaking into the clear, but when jockey Adam Beschizza took Monte Man, who’d stalked the pace, off the rail and into contention, the old gelding's run was relentless.
It was 4 1/2 lengths back to Sir Wellington in third, as 7-5 favorite No Parole was eased across the wire, his second such performance in a row following a lengthy layoff.
Monte Man, bred by Val Murrell, is a son of Custom for Carlos and Sarah’s Angel, by Sutter’s Prospect.
Lassie
They didn’t save the best Louisiana Champions Day winner for last – just the most unlikely.
Buckley’s Bunny, a 93-1 shot, rallied wide under Delta Downs-based jockey Kevin Smith and posted a $188.40 upset in the $100,000 Lassie for Louisiana-bred 2-year-old fillies.
Favored Free Like a Girl rallied mildly between horses to finish second, with Medley third.
Buckley’s Bunny broke from post 12 and raced wide throughout, belatedly changing leads just before the furlong grounds and wearing down the four in front of her – including the favorite – at that point. She was timed in 1:11.76 for six furlongs, a modest clocking on a fast-playing dirt track Saturday.
Steve Flint trains Buckley’s Bunny for Whispering Oaks Farm, whose principal, Carrol Castille, bred her in partnership with Steve Asmussen. Buckley’s Bunny, winning for the second time in six starts, is out of the Grand Slam mare Slamming and is from the first crop of Louisiana sire Iron Fist, who campaigned for Castille and Asmussen.
