Jockey Reylu Gutierrez continued his hot hand by riding four winners on the Monday card at Fair Grounds, led by a stakes triple.
Sugar Bowl S.
Drawn on the rail in the $75,000 Sugar Bowl S., Chattalot broke alertly for Gutierrez, and the 4-1 shot made the most of his speed in the six-furlong dash. The Steve Asmussen juvenile was headed by 8-5 favorite Higher Standard through an opening quarter in :22.05 on the fast track, but got the upper hand by the half in :45.35. Chattalot leveraged his rail position to spurt clear in upper stretch, then held the persistent Underhill’s Tab by a half-length in 1:10.03. Blue Kentucky took third from Freelancer, while Higher Standard tired to sixth of eight.
Chattalot has bankrolled $199,095 from a 5-3-0-1 record for Bloom Racing Stable and David A. Bernsen. Interestingly, the colt is by Midnight Lute, the same sire as Bloom’s champion mare Midnight Bisou. Both were sourced by Jeffrey Bloom as two-year-olds in training at OBS April.
After winning his first two starts at Saratoga and Churchill Downs, Chattalot tired to third in the Oct. 30 Bowman Mill S. at Keeneland and fourth in the Nov. 27 Lively Shiveley S. back at Churchill. Lively Shively winner Tejano Twist just finished second on the stretch-out in Sunday’s Gun Runner S.
A June 2 foal, Chattalot RNA’d for $4,500 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling but commanded $110,000 at OBS this spring. Bred by Gryphon Investments in Kentucky, the bay is a half-brother to Grade 3-placed stakes scorer A Red Tie Day. Another Grade 3-placed half-sibling, Alydarla, has produced stakes winner Bethlehem Road. Chattalot, A Red Tie Day, and Alydarla are all out of the stakes-placed Kingmambo mare Mamboalot.
Woodchopper S.
After several scratches from the $75,000 Woodchopper S., most notably Concert Tour (who is reportedly awaiting a dirt spot), Excess Magic was bet down to 2.30-1 favoritism. The William T. Reed homebred proved worthy of that status as he worked out a perfect stalking trip to notch his first stakes victory.
Trained by Bret Calhoun and well placed by the hot-riding Gutierrez, Excess Magic tracked longshot Rightandjust through fractions of :24.43 and :49.76 on the firm turf. The Magician colt took over rounding the far turn, held sway by 1 1/2 lengths from 5-2 second choice Point Me By, and finished the mile in 1:38.08. Rightandjust held third from Hidden Enemy, while fifth-placed Big Lake looked outpaced in his turf experiment off a nine-month layoff.
Excess Magic, who missed by a nose in the Jan. 31 Texas Turf Mile, sports a mark of 8-4-2-1, $164,171. Out of the stakes-winning Exchange Rate mare Exchanted, the Kentucky-bred recently posted a comeback allowance win in a Fair Grounds turf sprint.
Pago Hop S.
Calhoun and Gutierrez swept the day’s turf stakes when Lovely Ride pulled a 9.40-1 upset in her grass debut in the $75,000 Pago Hop S. Reserved in fourth early as Touch of Class clocked :24.17 and :49.30, the Allied Racing Stable homebred found a seam on the leader’s inside to forge ahead. Amiche, the 3.10-1 favorite, ground her way into contention on the outside, but came up three-quarters of a length shy in second. Princess Theorem relegated Touch of Class to fourth in the 11-filly field.
Lovely Ride negotiated the mile in 1:38.56 to enhance her scorecard to 9-5-1-1, $284,160. The Kentucky-bred daughter of Candy Ride wired the Aug. 24 Cathryn Sophia S. at Parx and most recently placed third in the Dec. 4 Mistletoe S. at Oaklawn Park. She is out of the Grade 2-winning Tiznow mare Lovely Lil, who is also responsible for current Del Mar Futurity (G1) third American Xperiment.
Joseph “Spanky” Broussard Memorial
Lothenbach Stables’ Audrey’s Time brought a useful formline as the third-placer in the Nov. 25 Falls City (G2) at Churchill Downs, and the 7-5 chance advertised its depth in the $75,000 Joseph E. “Spanky” Broussard Memorial. Confidently handled by Corey Lanerie, the Neil Pessin trainee rallied from the rear to win going away by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:43.06 for the mile and 70 yards.
Front-running Cheetara, who eclipsed Audrey’s Time for favoritism at odds of 9-10, dictated splits of :23.74, :47.07, and 1:12.15, but succumbed down the lane. Powder River made a nifty inside move before settling for the runner-up spot, while Velvet Crush checked in third, and Cheetara faded to fourth of the quintet.
Audrey’s Time was earning her first stakes score, upping her line to 16-4-1-3, $268,226. Bred by Woodford Thoroughbred in Kentucky and sold for $185,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, the Uncle Mo filly is a half to Grade 1-placed Silverpocketsfull. Their dam is the multiple stakes winner and Grade 2-placed Unforgotten, by Northern Afleet.
Letellier Memorial
Trainer Brad Cox was assured of an exacta in midstretch of the $75,000 Letellier Memorial, with the only question being which one of his juvenile fillies would prevail. Pacesetting 7-10 favorite Girl With a Dream kept finding to see off 2-1 second choice Com’ on Sweet Luv by a length, and there was a six-length gap back to Mystique Saboteur in third. Implosion, who withdrew from Sunday’s Untapable S. to stick to sprinting, was fourth of seven.
Under Florent Geroux, Girl With a Dream reeled off fractions of :22.49, :46.42, and :58.34 en route to completing six furlongs in 1:10.84. Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister’s runner had an easier time here than in her prior stakes attempt, the Spinaway (G1) at Saratoga, where a rough start contributed to her uncharacteristic eighth-place finish. Her resume stands at 5-3-1-0, $170,720, reflecting an Ellis Park debut romp and a Churchill allowance victory last time out.
From the first crop of the Into Mischief stallion Practical Joke, Girl With a Dream was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall and D + J Racing Stable. The $115,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase was produced by the Corinthian mare Henley, who is in turn a half to multiple Grade 2 hero Mr. Commons.
