Photo: CDI
Mrs. Yoshio Fujita’s Ravi’s Song,
allowed to settle, launched a bold bid along the inside when set down
for the drive and drew off for a convincing length and a half score
in Saturday’s second running of the $100,000 New Orleans Ladies for older fillies and mares at Fair Grounds.
The winner, trained by
Carl Bowman and ridden by Corey Lanerie,
overcame a slow early pace not particularly agreeable to her running
style but accomplished the 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:44.64
while increasing her career earnings to $258,173 with her sixth victory
in 12 lifetime starts. The daughter of Unbridled’s Song out of 1998
Fair Grounds Oaks winner Lu
Ravi paid $8.20, $4 and $3.
“I
was a little concerned because they were going so slow up front,” said
winning rider Lanerie, “but at the half-mile pole the race started
to pick up and I knew I had plenty of horse left.”
John Gunther’s
Stage Magic prompted the
early pace, gained a clear advantage at the furlong grounds, could not
withstand the late surge of the winner but was easily second best
returning mutuels of $10.80 and $4.80.
Four and three-quarter lengths farther back at the wire was Jim Tafel’s
Fighter Wing, who had
established early splits of 24.90 and 49.57, but was no match for the
top two in the drive. The pacesetter paid $4 to show.
“I’ve worked (Ravi’s Song) since she won the Pelleteri here (Feb.12) and she’s trained great down here,” said
Bowman. “I felt she was ready for this race.”
GREAT MILLS GOES GREAT GOING TWO TURNS IN GRINDSTONE STAKES
Millennium Farms’
Great Mills, going two turns again after two straight sprint races, made every pole a winning one in Saturday’s
Grindstone Stakes,
rescheduled from a week ago when an afternoon deluge forced the
cancellation of last Saturday’s Fair Grounds program after two races.
“Pace is everything and he was stretching out for the second time going two turns,” said winning rider
Shane Sellers
following Great Mills one-length front-running score. “But I wasn’t
expecting to get (an opening quarter-mile in) ‘26.’ In those kinds of
races you take
what they give you and they gave it to me.”
Trained by
Steve Asmussen, Great
Mills got early fractions of 26.20 and 51.23 before getting the about 7
1/2-furlongs of the race for 3-year-olds over the Stall-Wilson turf
course in 1:34.09
Great
Mills returned mutuels of $20, $5.60 and $4 and increased his career
earnings to $82,800 with his third career win in four lifetime starts.
All In Stable’s favored
Willcox Inn found his
best stride late to be clearly second best, paying $2.80 and $2.40 while
finishing 1 3/4-lengths in front of Team Block’s
Mavericking, who returned $2.80 in the show spot.