Fair Grounds Lover is 5-for-6 Locally

 

New Orleans (November 24, 2020) – Autumn Hill Farms Racing Stables Inc.’s Bobby’s Wicked One will look to rediscover his best form and try to repeat in the $125,000 Thanksgiving Classic when he starts as the one to catch in Fair Grounds’ Opening Day stakes. The 6-furlong dash is the first of 51 stakes worth $7.055 million at the 76-day meet, which will be run for the 149^th time, and this year’s renewal is as deep and competitive as any in recent memory.

Bobby’s Wicked One (post four, 4-1 ML, Miguel Mena to ride), a 5-year-old son of Speightstown trained by All Stall, Jr., figures to welcome a return to a Fair Grounds main track that he’s 5-for-6 over lifetime. Last in both the Count Fleet (G3) behind subsequent Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Whitmore at Oaklawn Park in April and Volatile in the Aristides at Churchill Downs June 6, Bobby’s Wicked One will race fresh on Thursday. Stall opted for a planned summer freshening after the Aristides, with an eye towards Fair Grounds and a winter campaign, and Bobby’s Wicked One, who is 6-for-17 lifetime, including a win in the Commonwealth (G3) at Keeneland in April 2019, has responded well.

“He just hasn’t been a summer horse, so it’s normal for us to give him some off time. He ran those two bad races but physically there was nothing wrong,” Stall said. “He usually wilts a bit in the heat and has proven to be a winter horse, so we’re looking forward to leading him over for another go Thursday.”

Bobby’s Wicked One put in his final piece of work with a sharp 5-furlong move in 1:00 over the local main track, the second-fastest of 45 drills at the distance. While he does enter off a five-month layoff, Stall is eagerly looking towards a title defense.

“Physically, and moving-wise, he’s come back better than ever this fall. He’s gotten that last bit of maturity in him and you’re going to see a very thick, strong horse in the paddock,” Stall said. “We weren’t able to get a prep off the bench but he’s a fresh, sharp horse, so hopefully he breaks running and we can get over to the rail. For whatever reason, he’s a very confident horse when he can get to the rail, from what Miguel has told me.”

Susan Moulton’s Manny Wah (post 5, 3-1, James Graham) may be winless in seven starts this year for trainer Wayne Catalano but you could argue he enters with the best recent form of any of his seven rivals. He comes in off a close and troubled fifth-place in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland on November 7. The 4-year-old son of Will Take Charge was third in both the Count Fleet and Aristides and is 3-for-21 lifetime. He hasn’t missed a beat since his Keeneland run, which may have surprised everyone but his trainer.

“We thought he was live as a firecracker that day and with the layout of the race we thought we were a winner, but he gave up the spot to the 7 (Whitmore) and that was it,” Catalano said. “I think we’ll be in the catbird seat (Thursday) off the speed, pull the trigger, and go baby, go.”

ERJ Racing LLC, Madaket Stables LLC, and Dave Kenney’s Landeskog (post six, 4-1, Colby Hernandez) will look to get untracked after a disappointing sixth at odds-on in Pimlico’s Oct. 3 Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Dash (G3). The 4-year-old son of Munnings returned from a 10-month layoff and posted a decisive win in an optional-claimer at Ellis Park in August while making his first start for trainer Brad Cox but seemed to regress at Pimlico. Landeskog is 3-for-7 lifetime, and figures to be pressing Bobby’s Wicked One the entire way.

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC and Stonestreet Stables LLC’s Nitrous (post two, 7-2, Adam Beschizza) was third, beaten just a head, in the DeFrancis for trainer Steve Asmussen and will look to break a nine-race losing streak. The 4-year-old son of Tapit is 3-for-17 lifetime and has faced some of the best in the sprint division since winning the Bachelor at Oaklawn in April 2019.

Gary Broad’s Tringale (post one, 12-1, Mitchell Murrill), second to Bobby’s Wicked One in last year’s renewal, has been working bullets in the morning for his first start since April; Brittlyn Stable Inc.’s Chublicious (post three, 20-1, Angel Suarez), fifth in the 2018 renewal; Winning Stables Inc.’s He’s Smokin Now (post seven, 20-1, Marcelino Pedroza), a restricted stakes winner at Canterbury Park earlier this year; and Erma Cobb’s Mr Money Bags (post eight, 9-2, Carlos Marquez), who won the Stonerside Sprint at Sam Houston in January, are also entered for the Thanksgiving Classic.

The Thanksgiving Classic is the eighth race on a strong 10-race Opening Day card, with a scheduled post of 3:35 p.m. CT. Weather permitting, the will be four turf races (R3,R5,R7, R9), along with an MSW for 2-year-olds (R6) that could have a direct impact on the “Road to the Derby” series, which culminates March 20, with the 108^th running of the $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2).

The meet kicks off at 12:00 p.m. CT and will mark the return of a traditional early and late Pick 5, which will encompass the first and last five races of the card, with the latter replacing the Black Gold 5 jackpot bet. In addition, there will be a daily early Pick 4 (R2-5), and late Pick 4 on the last four races of the day, as well as a middle Pick 4 when there are 10 or more races. A pocket schedule, along with a complete list of the stakes schedule, can be found here: https://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-2021-THOROUGHBRED-RACING-AND-STAKES-CALENDAR.pdf

 

Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown among several powerful new barns

 

New Orleans (November 20, 2020) – A deep and competitive backstretch will be that much tougher this winter when Fair Grounds opens their 149th meet Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, as several new trainers will make their presence felt for the first time. The who’s who list is led by reigning four-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown, who will have 24 stalls and joins two-time defending champion Brad Cox, along with perennial powers Ron Faucheux, Tom Amoss and Steve Asmussen, in making up one of the most talented and well-stocked group of conditioners to have ever descended on Fair Grounds.

Brown, based primarily in New York for the first decade of his career, has branched out in recent years and put down roots in Kentucky this year for the first time, which created a natural progression towards Fair Grounds.

 

“Being in the Midwest at Churchill Downs, and with things going well, we felt it made a lot of sense to bring a division to Fair Grounds and try to establish a year-round circuit,” Brown said. “We’re optimistic that we can be competitive down there this winter.”

 

Brown, who has long had the deepest and most talented grass horses in the country, is familiar with Fair Grounds’ biggest turf stakes, the Muniz Memorial Classic (G2), as he shipped Bricks and Mortar in to win the race in 2019, in what helped kickstart a Horse of the Year campaign that ended with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. While he plans on taking advantage of the local turf course, he expects to be well represented on all levels.

 

“Right now, we’re still finalizing who we’re going to bring down there and what kind of horses fit best, regardless of what class or division it might be,” Brown said. “We’ll look over the condition book and see, on a horse-by-horse basis, what makes the most sense. If we have a lot of horses for the same condition it makes sense to separate them. And certainly, we’ll keep our clients in mind as well, as some like to race in certain spots, based on where they are located.”

 

Brown is based at Palm Meadows in South Florida during the winter and will still call that home, which means Whit Beckman, a Louisville native who oversaw the Kentucky division this year, will be running the shedrow at Fair Grounds.

 

“Whit has been with us a few years now and has done a terrific job with the Kentucky string this year,” Brown said. “He’s proven himself to be an excellent horseman and will be familiar with a lot of the horses we send to Fair Grounds.”

 

Though the list of newcomers is clearly led by Brown, there are several other nationally recognized trainers who will have a string at Fair Grounds this winter, including Norm Casse, who will have 21 stalls, while Ignacio Correas (26), Cherie DeVaux (22), Tommy Drury (6), Austin Gustafson (22), Anthony Quartarolo (14), Kelly Rubley (15), and Shane Wilson (40) are all new faces.

 

A smaller presence at Fair Grounds in recent years, Keith Desormeaux (25) has upped thee ante for 2020-21. He’s enjoyed local success in the past, winning the Risen Star (G2) in 2013 with 135-1 longshot Ive Struck a Nerve, while Drury could bring grade 2 winning 3-year-old Art Collector to run in next season’s handicap division.

 

Cox, who pulled clear late last year and won the trainer’s title with 40 wins, is the favorite to win it this year and will have the maximum allotted 44 stalls, as will Faucheux, who ran second with 34 wins. Amoss (29 wins) and Asmussen (26) also have 44 stalls, as do top-10 trainers Bret Calhoun, Joe Sharp, Al Stall, and Mike Stidham.

 

The jockey’s race was a meet-long battle last year, as James Graham booted home 63 winners to outlast Mitchell Murrill by one and Colby Hernandez by three, and the trio will again lead the way this year. Florent Geroux (56 wins), Brian Hernandez Jr. (44), Adam Beschizza (44), Shaun Bridgmohan (38), Gabriel Saez (35), and Miguel Mena (32) were all in the top-10 and will be back this winter as well.

 

Opening Day marks the first of 76 racing days as Fair Grounds will run through March 28. There will be over $7 million in stakes races, highlighted by the March 20, $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. A pocket schedule, along with a complete list of the stakes schedule, can be found here: https://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-2021-THOROUGHBRED-RACING-AND-STAKES-CALENDAR.pdf