Jones looking forward to Fair Grounds’ sophomore races with
Divine Beauty, Albano
Hopefully, for trainer Larry Jones and
former Governor of Kentucky owner Brereton Jones, the magic of a winter
campaign in New Orleans will happen again once again at Fair Grounds.
On Saturday, when Fair Grounds ran its Santa Super Saturday
program four days before Christmas, the Jones Boys teamed up to win both of the
afternoon’s stakes races for two-year-olds with a promising pair of juveniles who
will become three-year-olds on New Year’s Day.
The Jones-owned and Jones-trained aptly-named bay filly
Divine Beauty, ridden by Fair Grounds defending rider champion Rosie Napravnik,
scored an impressive 6 1/2-length victory in the Letellier Memorial. Four races later that same owner-trainer tandem tallied again when their bay
colt Albano, ridden by Kerwin Clark, proved clearly best with a 1 1/4-length
victory in the Sugar Bowl Stakes.
What happens next?
“We’ll do what we always do,” Larry Jones stated Sunday
morning. “We’ll try to get on the Triple Crown trail with Albano, try to bring
him up to the (Grade 3, $200,000) Lecomte (on January 18), go on and shoot next for the (Grade
2, $400,000) Risen Star (on February 22) and then the (Grade 2, $1 million) Louisiana Derby (on March 29). The
idea is rack up enough points to get on to the Kentucky Derby, but of course we
have to take these things one step at a time.
“With Divine Beauty, she’ll pretty much do the same beat
we’ve always done, too,” Jones continued. “Try to get her ready for the ($125,000) Silverbulletday (on January 18), go on to the (Grade
3, $200,000) Rachel Alexandra (on February 22)
and then the (Grade 2, $500,000) Fair Grounds Oaks (on March 29).”
The Jones plans come as no surprise to Fair Grounds fans.
Larry Jones became the first conditioner to sweep Fair
Grounds’ three-race series of Kentucky Derby preps with Fox Hill Farm and Vinery
Stables’ Friesan Fire in 2009. Together the Jones Boys’ Proud Spell in 2008 and
Believe You Can last season parlayed a win in the Fair Grounds Oaks to another
in the Kentucky Oaks.
However, no filly has ever swept Fair Grounds three-race
series of Kentucky Oaks preps. Proud Spell didn’t run in the first leg of the
series and Believe You Can finished fourth in the Rachel Alexandra.
“We’ll just keep trying until we get it right,” Larry Jones
said with a smile. “As for Albano, (a half-brother to the Jones’ Grade
2-scoring Mark Valeski) — we’ll just hope he turns out to be a few steps better than his older
brother.”
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