Ike and Dawn Thrash’s
Wild About Marie, allowed to settle just behind the early leaders,
launched a strong bid in the final furlong to capture Saturday’s 25th
anniversary edition of Fair Grounds’ $60,000
Bienville Stakes for older fillies and mares at about 5 1/2-furlongs over the Stall-Wilson turf course by three-quarters of a length.
Ridden by
Richard Eramia and trained by
Jeff Thornbury, Wild About Marie accomplished the distance over the
grass rated firm in 1:05.15, increased her career earnings to $160,150
and won her fifth race from 11 lifetime starts and returned mutuels of
$11.60 $6 and $3.40
“She broke sharp but I put her behind
the speed,” said Eramia right after the race.
“Then I just waited for my spot. The horse ran a good race.
She finished strong.”
Melnyk Racing Stables’
Mullins
Beach rallied late to gain the place, paying $6.80 and $3.80, but could not match the winner.
Team Valor International and Highfield
Stock Farm’s Chantilly Nayla found her best stride late to finish third, a length and a half behind
Mullins
Beach and returned $2.80 to show.
Andrena Van Doren’s
Starlite Starbrite made the pace with early fractions of 22.54 and 47.37 but weakened to fourth in the late stages.
ROSIE
NAPRAVNIK RIDES 100TH WINNER THIS WINTER AT FAIR GROUNDS
Leading rider
Rosie Napravnik became the first jockey in four years to win 100 or
more races during a Fair Grounds meeting when she hit the century mark
aboard Charles Fletcher’s
Baltimore Bob for trainer
Cody Autry in Saturday’s fifth race. Earlier in the afternoon Napravnik won the third race astride
Curragh Mon, owned by Barrett Racing Stable and trained by
Mike Stidham.
The last rider to win hit the local
winner’s circle more than 100 times was
Joe Talamo, who rode 118 winners during Fair Grounds’ 2006-2007 meeting. Seven-time Fair Grounds jockey champion
Robby Albarado, sidelined by a broken heel suffered
earlier in the meeting but slated to return to action shortly, rode more
than 100 winners during six of his seven local jockey championships.