Ramona Bass’s highly regarded Applauding,
a juvenile filly who was purchased for $370,000 at a 2-year-old in
training sale earlier this year, may turn out to be a bargain based on
her six-length
victory at Fair Grounds in Friday’s sixth race.
The
six-furlong sprint, a $50,000 allowance optional claiming event for
2-year-olds which had never won a race other than maiden, claiming,
starter or state-bred, attracted a field of six.
Trained by Al Stall Jr. and ridden by
Shane Sellers, Applauding toured the three-quarter
miles in 1:10.34 after ticking the teletimer with 21.71 and 44.99
earlier splits when taking command just strides after the break.
“She was just in a kind of jog and she went 44 and change,” said her impressed trainer Stall while indicating that Fair Grounds’
$125,000 Silverbulletday Stakes Jan. 21 was being targeted as her next assignment.
The Silverbulletday Stakes is the first of Fair Grounds’ three-race series for 3-year-old fillies that concludes with the
Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks March 31.
“Those
are the kind that make your job easy,” said jockey Sellers. “There’s
not a jockey in that room that couldn’t have rode her today….I don’t
think that two turns is going to be a problem for her at all. She’s got
tactical speed. I really believe that two turns is going to be her
ticket.”
Applauding,
a daughter of Congrats out of a Forestry mare, kept her perfect record
intact with her second win in as many starts and has now
earned $54,600 while returning mutuels of $2.20, $2.10 and $2.10
Friday. Her straight price was the shortest recorded at Fair Grounds
this season.
Hardin Farms’
Lulu Wong finished second, paying $3 and $2.10 while finishing a length and three-quarters to the good of McLoughlin Stables’
Little Miss Muffet, who returned $2.20 to show.
HIGHEST WIN PRICE OF SEASON – $157.40 – POSTED IN PREVIOUS RACE
Ironically, the highest win, place and show prices of
Fair Grounds 2011-2012 meeting thus far were recorded one race earlier
when Pre K Training Center and Danny and Donna Brown’s
Pleasant Choice lit up the tote board with mutuels of $157.40, $61.60 and $23.60 while ridden by
Kerwin Clark and trained by Carl DeVille.
Racing resumes Saturday at Fair Grounds with a 13-race
Claiming Crown program featuring a special first race post time of
12:10 p.m.