 1/21/2012
- Mr. Bowling ridden by Robby Albarado gets a head in front of Z
Dager and jockey Shane Sellers to win the 68th running of the
$175,000 Grade III Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds. Hodges
Photography / Lou Hodges, Jr.
MR. BOWLING ROLLS TO VICTORY IN LECOMTE
• Thiskyhasnolimit Wires Field in $100,000 Louisiana Handicap
• Florida Invader Inspired Gate to Wire in $75,000 Pan Zareta Stakes
NEW ORLEANS - Jan. 21, 2012 – Giving trainer Larry Jones his second
victory in Saturday’s two stakes restricted to sophomores, Brereton
Jones’s Mr. Bowling rallied from just behind the early leaders to
gain the advantage in upper stretch and then withstood a late bid by
Zayat Stables’ Z Dager and capture the 68th running of Fair Grounds’
Grade III Lecomte Stakes by a head on the New Orleans oval’s Road to
the Derby Kickoff Day.
After winning Saturday’s $125,000 Silverbulletday Stakes for
3-year-old fillies with Brereton Jones’s Believe You Can earlier in
the afternoon, Jones saddled Mr. Bowling to win the Lecomte, first
leg of Fair Grounds’ three-race series for sophomores with designs
on a Triple Crown campaign later this spring.
Jones, a native of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, flew briefly to Southern
California Monday to accept 2011 Horse of the Year honors for Fox
Hill Farm’s Havre de Grace, and the affable conditioner then put the
icing on his banner week by winning his second Lecomte Stakes in
three years and his third in the last five. Fox Hill Farm’s Hard
Spun won the Lecomte in 2007 and then went on to run second in the
Kentucky Derby that year. Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm’s Friesan
Fire won the 2009 Lecomte and went on to sweep Fair Grounds’ other
two legs in its three-race local series, winning the Grade II Risen
Star Stakes in February before making it followed three straight in
that year’s Grade II Louisiana Derby.
This winter’s Risen Star Stakes will be run on Feb. 25 as part of
Fair Grounds’ Louisiana Derby Preview Day program. The 99th running
of the $1,000,000 Louisiana Derby will be contested on April 1,
closing day of the Crescent City oval’s 2011-2012 84-day session.
“To be honest, we thought (Mr. Bowling) was just starting to get
good,” Jones during the Lecomte winner’s circle ceremonies. “He’s
maturing at the right time. He really showed an affinity for this
track when we got down here. I can tell he liked it better than
anywhere we’ve been to this point. He pretty well got himself ready.
Having Believe You Can, they’ve been work mates. They got each other
ready and it paid off.”
Winning rider Robby Albarado, a seven-time jockey champion at Fair
Grounds in past seasons, made his move aboard Mr. Bowling in upper
stretch, gaining a one-length lead at the furlong grounds and then
holding the colt together late with strong urging.
“I figured if I could get him clear turning for home, and give him a
chance to run home he would,” Albarado said. “When that horse (Z
Dager) ran to him late, he gave me some second effort.”
Favored Z Dager, never far back, launched his bid in the final
furlong to gain the runner-up spot by a half-length from Jerry
Namy’s Shared Property. Z Dager paid $4.80 and $3.60, and Shared
Property returned $3.80.
THISKYHASNOLIMIT WIRES THE FIELD IN LOUISIANA HANDICAP –
Cathy & Bob Zollars and Mark Wagner’s Thiskyhasnolimit took
advantage of an uncontested lead and finished strongly to win the
$100,000 Louisiana Handicap by one length over Jim Tafel’s Fast
Alex. For older horses at 1 1/16 miles, the Louisiana starts a
three-race series that will also include the Feb. 25 Grade III,
$125,000 Mineshaft and the April 1 Grade II, $400,000 New Orleans
Handicap.
Jockey Shane Sellers, aboard the 5-year-old son of Sky Mesa for the
first time, jumped to an early lead and breezed through uncontested
early fractions of 24.70, 48.71 and 1:13.28. The moderate fractions
left Thiskyhasnolimit with something left for the stretch, powering
home to a final time of 1:43.67.
“He is a very good looking animal,” Sellers said. “You can tell, he
made $700,000, so he was cut out to be a good horse.”
Making his first start since July, the winner bettered his career
record to 6-4-1 in 19 starts while increasing his career earnings to
$767,828.
“He’s put in some tremendous work and just thought this was a good
spot for him,” said Steve Asmussen, wining trainer in this race for
the fourth time. “Shane gave him a great trip. I think he was pretty
fortunate that the deal didn’t have much pace in it and it went his
way, but it’s a great spot for him to come back in.”
Thiskyhasnolimit paid $12.20, $6.40 and $3.80. Fast Alex paid $4.60
and $3.20, while Bourque Goldstein Thoroughbreds’ favored Alma d’Oro
was three-quarters of a length back in third, returning $3.20.
INSPIRED WINS $75,000 PAN ZARETA STAKES IN FRONT-RUNNING STYLE
– Taking advantage of his filly’s outside post position on the
grass, jockey John Velazquez used that placement to guide Peter Blum
Thoroughbreds’ Inspired to a front-running length and a half win in
Saturday’s $75,000 Pan Zareta Stakes for fillies and mares at about
5 1/2 furlongs over a Fair Grounds Stall-Wilson turf course that was
rated “good” throughout the afternoon.
“I was on the outside and I wanted to keep her off the rail anyway,”
said Velazquez immediately after the grass dash. “I’d been watching
the races all day and I figured that might be the best place to be.
I knew she was going to be on the lead, so it worked out great.”
Inspired took command just after the start and made the pace staying
outside her rivals, getting early fractions of 22.11 and 45.33
before accomplishing the final time in 1:03.47. The daughter of
Unbridled’s Song paid $32.80, $10.20 and $8.60 and increased her
career earnings to $184,385 with her fourth win in 14 lifetime
starts.
“The last time she ran, Johnny came back and said ‘Man, she doesn’t
like it (being rated),’” trainer Allen Iwinski said. “He had said to
just let her run free and not take hold of her and it turns out that
was the right thing to do.”
Ike and Dawn Thrash’s favored Wild About Marie got up to finish a
clear second, paying $4 and $3.40 while a length and a quarter in
front of Prime Equestrian’s Flash Mash, who returned $4.40 in the
third position.
The Pan Zareta was marred by the break down of Thoroughbred Legends
Racing Stable’s Rapport, who had to be put down immediately after
the race.
Racing resumes Sunday at Fair Grounds with a nine-race program
beginning at 12:40 p.m.
About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, the nation’s third-oldest
racetrack, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans,
Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global
Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming
facility and 10 off-track betting parlors throughout southeast
Louisiana. The 140th Thoroughbred Racing Season continues through
April 1, 2012, highlighted by the $1 million Louisiana Derby for
Kentucky Derby hopefuls on April 1. More information can be found
online at
www.FairGroundsRaceCourse.com .
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