Witt Ante pulls upset, Happy Ticket remains undefeated

Witt Ante earned his sixth stakes score on Saturday (Lou Hodges Jr.)

The Louisiana Champions Day, a series of stakes races for
Louisiana state-breds, concluded Saturday when David Beard’s WITT ANTE (Upping
the Ante) pulled an upset in the $150,000

Louisiana Champions Day Classic. Sent off at 8-1, the
four-year-old gelding took the 1 1/8-mile event in wire-to-wire fashion under
jockey Tracy Herbert in splits of :23 1/5, :46 2/5, 1:11 4/5 and 1:38 on the
fast track before ending the race in 1:52, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of runner-up
Screen Idol (Zarbyev).

Witt Ante returned $18.60, $8.60 and $4.20 to his backers while on the front
end of a $123.60 exacta. Screen Idol left the gate at 6-1 to pay back $8 and
$4.20. The 7-5 favorite, Spritely Walker (Skywalker), failed to defend his
Classic title, coming in third to give back $2.80 and round out the $348.60
trifecta. Meteor Impact (Beleck) took the fourth spot to finish the 1-8-2-6
superfecta which paid $1,248.20. Walk in the Snow (In a Walk), Nitro Chip (Finest
Hour) and Prince Slew (Far Out Wadleigh) rounded out the rest of the field.

The winning Larry Robindeaux trainee was bred in Louisiana by Sue Ball and is
out of the stakes-winning mare Witty Comment (Roman Missle). This victory gives
Witt Ante a career mark of 23-8-4-3 with earnings of $449,357.

Stewart Mather Madison’s HAPPY TICKET (Anet) kept her unbeaten streak alive
when she won the $100,000

Louisiana Champions Day Ladies S. by four lengths over Destiny
Calls (With Approval). Both fillies entered the race undefeated on the year in
six starts. Happy Ticket walked away 7-for-7 with earnings of $247,260. Sent off as
the 2-5 favorite, the Andrew Leggio Jr. charge finished the 1 1/16-mile race in
1:45 1/5 under jockey Lonnie Meche.