Photo: CDI
Oak Leaf’s Effie
ran a “clunker” in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Lassie on Dec.
10 before coming back to win Saturday’s filly division of the
$100,390 Louisiana Futurity at Fair Grounds, but trainer
Tony Richey had blamed himself for his filly’s poor performance in the Lassie even before she won Saturday’s Futurity.
“She
just didn’t act right in the paddock before that (Dec. 10) race,” said
Richey prior to her Saturday score. “I almost scratched her that
day, and I should have, but she’s super sharp now.”
Effie
ran to Richey’s expectations Saturday, catching the odds-on favorite in
the late stages and going on to be best by three-quarters of a
length.
“We’ll
see how she comes out of this race, and then I’ll talk to (owner Royce
Roberts) and see what he wants to do next,” said Richey before
leaving New Orleans shortly after Saturday’s race.
One
race that could conceivably be in Effie’s future is the $75,000
Crescent City Oaks, restricted to accredited Louisiana-bred 3-year-old
fillies
that will be run on Fair Grounds Oaks Day, March 31.