Category: Free Drop Maddy

Allnight Moonlight wires the Half Ours and Free Drop Maddy Speeds Away in the Buttercup’s Song

louisianathoroughbred

New Orleans, La (Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023) – After breaking his maiden in January, Roger Smith’s Allnight Moonlight immediately stepped up to stakes company and stepped out in front to wire the inaugural $75,000 Louisiana Stallion of the Year Half Ours Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Going one mile 70 yards, Allnight Moonlight beat seven other statebred 3-year-olds by four lengths. 

Allnight Moonlight. Hodges photography.

Piloted by Jareth Loveberry and trained by Ron Faucheux, Allnight Moonlight completed one mile and 70 yards in 1:43.94. He is now two-for-two since adding blinkers. The win in the Half Ours was Faucheux’s second on the day and sixth on the week. Sitting at 25 total wins to Bret Calhoun’s 30 and Brad Cox’s 28,  Faucheux  is now in position to compete for his third straight trainer’s title.

“Ron (Faucheux) has really done a great job with this horse,” Loveberry said. “Stretching him out and putting the blinkers on, he got him going in the right direction. I made sure he got a good break and was able to take command after that. He’s a really nice horse and I want to thank the whole team.”

Breaking from the rail, Allnight Moonlight shot out to take control and set scintillating fractions of :23.50 and :46.29. After bobbling at the start, the 2-5 favorite Jack Hammer rushed to keep up and took a run at Allnight Moonlight in the second turn but came up empty. As Allnight Moonlight put more distance between himself and the field at every call, Benoit and Mangum ran well for second and third-place honors respectively. Never mustering a re-rally after being turned away, Jack Hammer held on for fourth.

“We’ve always been high on this horse,” Faucheux said. “The addition of blinkers helped him prove his talent in these last two races. I think the sky’s the limit with him. I love this horse, always have, even when he was running second or worse. We always thought he would be a true router, and he might even be best on the grass in the long run. He has the feet for it and the pedigree. I’m so happy for (owner) Roger Smith who is here with his grandson today. He’s been with me through and through, we’ve had a lot of fun. It’s a special (win).”

Stiff Drink, Gobot, Real Action, and My Lil Dude completed the order of finish. 

Allnight Moonlight was sent off at 5-1 and returned $13.00, $7.40, and $3.80. He boosted his career record to 5-2-2-0 and earnings to $97,000.

*****

Mansfield Racing’s Free Drop Maddy wired the field to win the inaugural $75,000 Louisiana Broodmare of the Year Buttercup’s Song Stakes, recording her third stakes victory during the 2022-2023 meet at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. The sophomore beat seven 3-year-old statebred fillies by 2 1/4 lengths. 

Piloted by Rey Gutierrez and trained by Bret Calhoun, Free Drop Maddy completed one mile in 1:39.47 for her first win going two turns. Her previous three efforts came at Delta Downs.

“Delta is a much different surface and (Free Drop Maddy) runs better here (at Fair Grounds),” Gutierrez said. “Bret (Calhoun) made some adjustments coming into this race, and she was extremely comfortable out there, very relaxed on the lead. Today was her first victory stretching out, and the credit goes to Bret and his team.”

Free Drop Maddy. Hodges photography.

Free Drop Maddy broke sharply and immediately took command, rolling through the early fractions in :24.57 and :48.22. New Destiny chased the leader early on before settling along the rail and biding her time for a late bid. Olivia G settled near the back early before making a bold, wide move to threaten in the stretch. Both of those two fillies ranged up behind Free Drop Maddy at the top of the stretch but neither could threaten as the winning filly kicked away. Olivia G beat New Destiny to the wire. Racing midpack throughout, Guitar Woman rounded out the superfecta.

“(Free Drop Maddy) is a small fast filly,” Calhoun said. “She’s like dynamite: little but powerful. Scheduling and hoping Delta’s track had tightened up had us back over there (in her last race), and I regret it. She doesn’t like that track at all.”

She Told You So, For Harper, Hopeitsmyluckyday, and Agami completed the order of finish. 

Free Drop Maddy was sent off the 9-5 co-favorite and returned $5.00. $3.60, and $3.00. In joining the ranks of Surveillance and Oeuvre with her third stakes score of the meet, she boosted her career record to 8-4-1-2 and earnings to $272,800.

Set-Hut’s Touchuponastar Ascends to Win the Louisiana Champions Day Classic

louisianathoroughbred
Touchuponastar, with Timothy Thornton aboard, wins the 31st running of the Louisiana Champions Day Classic. Hodges Photography / Jamie Newell.

NEW ORLEANS, La. (December 10, 2022) – The commanding speed in the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic, Set-Hut’s Touchuponastar overcame a slow break to lead through all calls and pour it on late to win by 4 3/4 lengths over Behemah Star. The Star Guitar-sired exacta had plenty in the tanks after coasting through soft fractions, keeping the odds-on favorite Who Took the Money at bay.

Touchuponastar, a lightly raced-3-year-old trained by Jeff Delhomme, ran the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.66 to collect his first career stakes win. Timothy Thornton rode the winner for Delhomme family, Jerry, Jeff, and ex-NFL quarterback Jake.

Pausing for an instant after the gates flew upon, Touchuponastar recovered quickly, hustling by the early challenger Highland Creek in the early going to set fractions of 24.55 and 49.34. He received no pressure as Highland Creek kept 1 1/2 lengths back to his outside. Behemah Star made his move to take over in second through the final bend but never menaced Touchuponastar who extended his lead to six lengths at the stretch call. Who Took the Money stalked wide in sixth before beginning a late move that never threatened the winner but was game enough to beat Ballinonabudjet for third.  The rest finished well back.

“We knew he was a special horse all along,” Timothy Thornton said. “We knew we were coming here to beat Who Took the Money, but when I was able to get that first quarter as slow as I was going, I thought Calhoun’s horse (Highland Creek) was going to pressure me. When they left me alone, I knew I was going to have plenty left, and he was definitely able to show how special he is today.”

Touchuponastar is a son of Guitar Star out of the Lion Heart mare Touch Magic and was bred in Louisiana by Coteau Grove Farms. The four-time winner returned $12.40, $5.60 and $3.00 as the 5-1 third betting choice in the field of seven older males. 

Cosmic Train, Highland Creek, and Maga Man completed the order of finish. Beauregard was scratched.

Touchuponastar netted $60,000 for owner Set-Hut LLC and now boasts career earnings of $163,100 from a record of 4-1-1 in 6 starts.

“He’s young and has a big future ahead of him,” trainer Jeff Delhomme said. “We were leaning towards the Classic the entire time (instead of the Sprint). We didn’t run in the prep because earlier in the career we swung back in three weeks and we think that ended up being a little too fast. It opens a lot of doors for us to be able to get nine furlongs, even outside Louisiana-bred horses.”

In other stakes action on the Louisiana Champions Day Card, Kendel D. Standlee’s Big Chopper rolled from off a 44.79 opening half mile to win the $100,000 Sprint going away at 6-1 for trainer Scott Gelner and jockey Corey Lanerie. He was followed home in the trifecta by longshots Relentless Dancer (15-1) and Mike J (46-1). After pressing into a hot pace, 2-1 favorite Bertie’s Galaxy finished last of the 12. 

In the $100,000 Ladies Distaff, Thomas Galvin’s A.G’s Charlotte proved her upset win in the Big World last month was no fluke, but this time she was forced to close into moderate fractions instead of having the table set for her. The circumstances were different, but the results were the same as she scored by a narrow margin under a heady, rail-skimming ride by Marcelino Pedroza, Jr. as the 5-2 second choice for trainer Patricia West. The pacesetter Winning Romance, who walked through an opening half-mile in 49.19, battled gamely but finished second  as the 3-5 public choice. Fort Polk, last year’s Distaff winner, settled for third.

In the $100,000 Ladies Sprint, Brittlyn Stables’ Ova Charged made short work of her overmatched rivals, rolling home in gate-to-wire fashion to score by 4 ¾ effortless lengths at the 1-5 chalk for Jose Camejo. Free Like a Girl, Spirited Beauty and Snowball completed the order of finish. With the win, Evelyn Benoit’s Brittlyn Stables extended their record of Champions Day wins to 15. 

In the $100,000 Juvenile, Kevin Stedman’s Late September (5-1) broke inward from the starting gate, wired the field, and eventually survived a claim of foul to give trainer Jose Camejo his first of two Champions Day wins on the card. It was one of three scores on the day for Fair Grounds’ leading rider Jose Luis Rodriguez. Tumbarumba, the 3-5 favorite, was severely compromised at the start, but he rallied on nicely to be second in front of Calicoco, who checked in third. 

In the $100,000 Lassie, Mansfield Racing’s Free Drop Maddy (6-5 second choice) battled for the lead from the rail, took over on the turn for home and built the lead in the stretch before holding off the slow starting 1-1 favorite Norah G to win by a diminishing neck. It was far back to Tensas Candy in third. 

The two starter races were won by the mare Zydeco Music (7-5) for owner Richard Anthony Tompkins, jockey Jose Rodriguez and trainer Shane Wilson and the gelding Dixie Street for owner Vanessa Motta, trainer Sean Alforish and jockey Tracy Hebert respectively. 

Free Drop Maddy’s Ferguson Win Sets the Stage for the Rest of her Fair Grounds Campaign

louisianathoroughbred
Jockey Reylu Gutierrez pilots Free Drop Maddy to victory in the inaugural running of the Donovan L. Ferguson Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Lou Hodges, Jr.

Mansfield Racing’s Free Drop Maddy set the record straight on who is the 2-year-old filly to fear in Louisiana, winning the 1st running of the 5 1/2 furlong $75,00 Donovan L. Ferguson Stakes by 6 3/4 lengths. After two lackluster races at Delta Downs, the talent she displayed breaking her maiden at Churchill Downs could be questioned on paper, but trainer Bret Calhoun knew better.

“She’d been training great,” Calhoun said after the race. “I’m not sure Delta was her best surface. We were pretty confident today, and we had really targeted her for a campaign here this winter.”

Under James Graham, Cced for Steph broke out to the front and took the advantage through the first call in 22.59. Positioned to her immediate outside by jockey Rey Gutierrez, 1.40-1 betting favorite Free Drop Maddy didn’t waste any time taking over after that. She completed the second call in front in 46.51. 29.70-1 longshot Addi Bug made her big move late, flying past runners in the turn but Free Drop Maddy was long gone and had plenty left as she crossed the wire in 1:05.29. Don’tcallmepatsy kept it close early and managed to hang on for third after running in that position the entire race.

Rey Gutierrez piloted three winners on the day.

With 5 races under her belt, Free Drop Maddy racked up win number 2 to go with her 1 second and 2 thirds. That makes an impressive $165,800 earned for this juvenile by Free Drop Billy.