Photo: CDI
Frank Fletcher Racing Operations’ Dance Caller
made or forced the pace throughout in Friday’s featured $49,000
allowance optional claiming sprint at Fair Grounds and withheld the late
surge of Darren
Fleming’s Island Soul by a length in the late stages.
Ridden by
Miguel Mena and trained by Tim Glyshaw,
Dance Caller, a 4-year-old son of Concorde’s Tune, toured the six
furlongs in 1:10.19 after early splits of 22.04 and 44.75. He
returned mutuels of $8.20, $5.80 and $3 and increased his career
earnings to $178,494 with his sixth career victory in 15 lifetime
starts.
Island
Soul, a contestant in last season’s Grade II Louisiana Derby, had no
speed but rallied in the stretch to be clearly second best, finishing
a length to the good of Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Homerun Berti.
That rival challenged for command in mid-stretch but could not sustain the bid against the top two.
Island Soul returned $7.20 and $3.60 and Homerun Berti paid $2.40 for the show.
Racing resumes Saturday at Fair Grounds with a
special early post time of 12:10 p.m. to accommodate the 13-race program of
Louisiana Champions Day,
with 11 six-figure stakes races for accredited Louisiana-breds,
including three Quarter Horse races, with a total purse value of $1.1
million.