Wind Chill Factor looks to rebound in Azalea

Wind Chill Factor finds herself in an unusual position Friday night: looking to get back in the win column. She was a dominant force in her Louisiana-bred division last year, winning 4 of 5 starts, including three straight stakes.

But in the $100,000 Azalea at Delta Downs, she will be looking for her first win at 3, and to get it, Wind Chill Factor will have to defeat eight others, including a pair of runners who finished in front of her in her 2015 debut, Private Promise and Forest Lake.

The Azalea is restricted to 3-year-old fillies bred in Louisiana. The 7 1/2-furlong race will be run around two turns.

KEY CONTENDERS

Wind Chill Factor (Last 3 Beyers: 69-68-75)

◗ Was the odds-on favorite in the $125,000 Premier Night Starlet at Delta Downs on Feb. 7. The race was her first start since December, and she was chasing after her fourth consecutive stakes. However, she ended up third despite a determined bid and was beaten just a length in the seven-furlong race.

◗ She might benefit from the added real estate she picks up since her first stakes win came at a mile in the $150,000 Louisiana Jewel on Nov. 22.

◗ Her other stakes wins have come at six furlongs, in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Lassie at Fair Grounds on Dec. 13 and the $90,000 fillies division of the Louisiana Futurity at Fair Grounds on Dec. 31.

Composed (Beyer: 72)

◗ She is making her first start since winning a Delta Downs maiden special weight race by 8 3/4 lengths in her debut Oct. 29.

◗ Composed is by D’wildcat and out of the mare Princess Composer, a multiple stakes winner who earned $261,927.