While the Kentucky Derby and Oaks points races served as the highlights of a banner Saturday at Fair Grounds, up-and-coming two-year-olds also featured in a pair of sprint stakes on the undercard. Legalize continued his ascent with a successful stakes debut in the $97,000 Sugar Bowl S., and Leslie’s Loot sprang a $38.80 upset of the $98,000 Letellier Memorial for fillies.
Sugar Bowl S.
By Constitution and out of the Brazilian Group 3-placed Allez Marie, herself a daughter of Unbridled’s Song and 2005 Kentucky Oaks (G1) heroine Summerly, Legalize isn’t bred to be a pure sprinter. So the Cherie DeVaux pupil could well stretch out down the road, perhaps testing his mettle on the Derby trail.
After an educational, if troubled, fifth behind the re-opposing Agoo on debut at Keeneland Oct. 22, Legalize took a leap forward to wire a Churchill Downs maiden on the Nov. 25 “Stars of Tomorrow II” program. That performance stamped the chestnut as one of the prime players in the Sugar Bowl, where he was dispatched as the slight second choice at 1.70-1.
Favoritism went to the 8-5 American Rascal, who’s trying to live up to his pedigree as the son of Hall of Famer Curlin and Royal Ascot celebrity Lady Aurelia. But the Stonestreet Stables homebred had to settle for second-best to his more tactically forward rival.
Breaking alertly with new pilot Brian Hernandez Jr., Legalize was perched on the outside attending a pace duel. The rail-drawn Triple Trea scrambled to get his head in front of Agoo through fractions of :22.09 and :45.26. Legalize, another head back in third, traveled within himself as his foes came under pressure rounding the far turn. He duly pounced at the top of the stretch and took charge.
American Rascal launched a determined rally from a couple of lengths off the pace and tried his best to make things interesting. Legalize wandered around late through greenness, but always remained firmly in control. The 2 3/4-length winner negotiated six furlongs in 1:10.56.
Agoo tired to third, underscoring how much Legalize had improved since their initial meeting. Next came The Donegal Clan, Triple Trea, and Malibu Rain.
Legalize became the fourth black-type performer produced by Allez Marie, following stakes scorer Workaholic, 2019 Sanford (G3) runner-up Tomato Bill, and multiple stakes-placed Fouette. Although those half-siblings were sprinters, Legalize hints of having a touch more class. His scorecard stands at 3-2-0-0, $131,775, for an ownership consortium including Twin Brook Stables, Belladonna Racing, Nice Guys Stables, West Point Thoroughbreds, et al.
Bred by Stud TNT in Kentucky, Legalize initially sold for $250,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The colt proved to be a pinhook coup for Golden Star Farm, commanding $500,000 from DeVaux as an OBS April juvenile.
Letellier Memorial
In contrast, Leslie’s Loot was a bargain $5,000 yearling at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky’s February Sale. Co-owned by trainer James Chapman and Stuart Tsujimoto, the New York shipper looked pretty exposed with six starts already under her belt. But the 18.40-1 longshot jumped up to post a new career high at the expense of the 3-5 Halina’s Forte.
Somewhat like Legalize, Leslie’s Loot forced the pace from an outside position, only the Letellier tempo was a lot faster, and she inherited the lead much sooner. Front-running Brunch Punch blazed through an opening quarter in :21.11, then beat a swift retreat, leaving Leslie’s Loot in front by the half in :44.64.
Halina’s Forte managed to advance from a stalking spot in traffic, yet never looked like threatening the surprising winner. Nor could anyone else take advantage of the fact that Leslie’s Loot was decelerating markedly in the wake of the ferocious pace.
Indeed, Leslie’s Loot extended her margin to 3 3/4 lengths under Jaime Torres. Her final time of 1:11.39 was noticeably slower than Legalize’s in the Sugar Bowl.
Halina’s Forte snared second by a half-length from Deboisblanc. Twirl Around, Kant Resist It, Brunch Punch, and the tailed-off Bedowntofoolaround completed the order of finish. Mixer was scratched.
Leslie’s Loot, who was fifth in the Matron S. to future Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) near-misser Jody’s Pride in her only prior stakes attempt, sports a mark of 7-3-1-1, $189,940. The Fast Anna filly had scored her other wins on off tracks, in an off-the-turf maiden at Saratoga and in a Dec. 3 allowance at a sloppy Aqueduct.
Bred by George Krikorian in Kentucky, Leslie’s Loot is out of the Stormy Atlantic mare Wicked Storm. The dark bay hails from the family of Grade 2 winners Stanley Park and Paid Up Subscriber.
