OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With an assist from his speedy stablemate Have You Ever, Calibrachoa came flying from well off the pace in the stretch to score an authoritative 4 1/2-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Tom Fool Handicap at Aqueduct.
Fastus Cactus, a 54-1 longshot, was a shocking off-the-pace second, four lengths ahead of pace,setting Deputy Daney. Dahlgren Chapel, Flat Bold, and Have You Ever completed the order of finish.
As a lifelong New Orleanian, Al Stall has a well-established Mardi Gras Day routine. And as a racetracker, that routine includes an afternoon trip to the Fair Grounds.
“The track’s one of my favorite places to go on Mardi Gras,” Stall said. “I go to work in the morning, come home, catch Rex [a major Mardi Gras parade] right outside the house here. Once all the clean-up trucks are past, we’re good to go.”
Fair Grounds called off its Saturday racing program after two races as the result of heavy rain that hit the track.
Races on Friday were off the turf and contested over a sloppy main track, and more rain fell on Saturday morning. Rain intensified at about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, and with further storms forecast to arrive throughout the day, Fair Grounds canceled the remainder of the card before the third race.
Turns out trainer Al Stall and owners Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider will have an undefeated 3-year-old in the Louisiana Derby after all. No, it’s not Bind, impressive winner of his career debut on Feb. 19. Stall said Saturday that Left, a two-turn allowance-race winner on Feb. 26 at Fair Grounds, was being pointed to the $1 million Louisiana Derby on March 26.
KENTUCKY DERBY NEWS: Track all the 3-year-olds on the Triple Crown trail
ARCADIA, Calif. - Blind Luck, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2010, worked six furlongs in 1:12.20 on the infield training track on Saturday.
Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Blind Luck was second in her most recent start, the La Canada Stakes on Feb. 13. She is a candidate for the $300,000 Santa Margarita Invitational Stakes over 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares on Saturday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – From California to Dubai, Crown of Thorns and Mr Gruff will make comebacks in coming weeks.
Mr Gruff has not started since finishing third in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Hollywood Park last May, and is being pointed for the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint over a straight five furlongs in Dubai on March 26, trainer Ron Ellis said.
“We’ve been pointing for it all along,” Ellis said. “He runs well fresh, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Three older sprinters coming off lengthy layoffs, including a pair of stakes winners, are part of an intriguing lineup in Tuesday night’s $32,000 no-conditions allowance feature at Charles Town.
The 4 1/2-furlong sprint, which goes as race 8, features Piratesonthelake, a Grade 3 stakes winner making his first start off a $25,000 claim two months ago; the 9-year-old Chasin Tiger, a stakes winner in 2008 who is unraced since November 2009; and the Maryland-based Halton, who makes his first start since winning a similar 4 1/2-furlong event locally last May.
Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., will begin its 32-date meet a week later than scheduled on Monday after 48 inches of snow enveloped the track for a two-week period in February. The meet will run through May 21.
“We’ve been waiting, and are ready to get started,” said Kelly Cathey, the racing secretary and track operations manager at Will Rogers.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – J P’s Gusto breezed six furlongs in 1:13.60 at Oaklawn Park on Saturday morning in preparation for the Grade 2, $300,000 Rebel Stakes on March 19. He is expected to be part of a large field for the 1 1/16-mile race, which is a stepping-stone in the Arkansas Derby.
Louisiana Downs will celebrate Mardi Gras on Tuesday with a pair of rich stakes for Quarter Horses.
The races make for one of the biggest programs of the meet.
Toast to Patriot is the one to beat in the $264,876 Mardi Gras Futurity after he dominated during trials for the race Feb. 19. He was making his career debut that afternoon, and romped by 2 3/4 lengths while covering 300-yards in a fastest-qualifying time of 15.62 seconds. Toast to Patriot is one of seven last-out winners in the 10-horse field Tuesday. The Mardi Gras is restricted to horses bred in Louisiana.
