Ivan Dalos’s Avie’s Tale, heroine of Fair
Grounds’ $58,000 Blushing K D Handicap on New Year’s Day when that race was
taken off the grass and run on a sloppy main track, has been installed as the
lukewarm 3-1 choice for Saturday’s 25th anniversary edition of the $60,000 Pelleteri
Stakes for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16-miles over the main track.
Trained by Canadian conditioner Josie Carroll,
Avie’s Tale will be ridden by Fair Grounds’ leading rider Rosie Napravnik.
In her last trip to the post the daughter of Tale of the Cat out of a Lord Avie
mare ran second in Fair Grounds’ $58,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial Stakes over
the Stall-Wilson turf course.
Capable of providing strong competition for Avie’s Tale in
the Pelleteri is Coteau Grove Farms’ Bella Medaglia, tabbed as
the Pelleteri’s 7-2 second choice and now conditioned by Bret Calhoun
but trained by Glenn Delahoussaye in her previous outings. Veteran
Louisiana-based reinsman Kerwin Clark, who was aboard for her 5 3/4-length
victory in her last start Jan. 21 in optional claiming allowance company,
returns in the irons Saturday. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro finished second
in last year’ $74,000 Tiffany Lass Stakes and fourth in last year’s Grade III
Silverbulletday Stakes.
Not to be discounted in the Pelleteri is Mrs. Yoshio
Fujita’s Ravi’s Song, fourth to Dundalk
5’s Dundalk Dust in Churchill’s Grade II Falls City Handicap in her last
start Nov. 25 and third choice at 9-2 in Saturday’s morning line. Conditioned
by Carl Bowman, the daughter of Unbridled’s Song out of the
Bowman-trained 2000 Grade II Delaware Handicap-winning mare Lu Ravi annexed the
$81,000 Shelby County Arts Handicap at Indiana Downs last July. Corey
Lanerie gets the mount.
Skychai Racing and Twin Creeks Farm et al’s Age of Humor
was third in last year’s Silverbulletday Stakes before going on to finish
12th in the Grade I Kentucky
Oaks. Shaun Bridgmohan has the mount for trainer Mike Maker. The
Distorted Humor filly is 6-1 on the morning line.
Completing the Pelleteri field is Ike and Dawn Thrash’s Third
Dawn, James Graham up; Jim Tafel’s Fighter Wing, Shane Sellers;
Chrysalis Stables’ Silver La Belle, Jamie Theriot; and L T B Inc. and
Miles Childers’ Sheer Beauty, Richard Eramia.