Fair Grounds Barn Notes: Saturday, January 20

By Ryan Martin —-

• Classy Act Considered For Grade II Rachel Alexandra Following Friday Evening Victory
• Jose Castanon Scores Pair Of Wins On Friday Evening
• Restless Rambler Goes For Five Straight Wins On Sunday
• Mr. Misunderstood Tops Saturday’s Work Tab

CLASSY ACT CONSIDERED FOR GR. II RACHEL ALEXADNRA FOLLOWING FRIDAY EVENING VICTORY

A winning effort from the appropriately named Classy Act in Friday’s second race at the Fair Grounds has trainer Bret Calhoun thinking she has what it takes for the Grade II $200,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (50-20-10-5) on Feb. 17.

“I think that we probably would have to consider it off that effort,” Calhoun said.

Owned by Carl Moore Management, the daughter of Into Mischief took on a salty field of winners on Friday evening when guided by jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. Such tough caliber of fillies included Go Google Yourself, who defeated Classy Act in a maiden event at Churchill Downs in October. She has been no stranger to top notch fillies having finished a neck behind Silverbulletday winner Stronger Than Ever in her career debut at Churchill Downs in September She broke her maiden last time out at fourth asking in wire-to-wire fashion over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course in December.

“I think the only real question that we had about this filly was ‘Is she as good on the dirt as she is on the turf?’” Calhoun said. “That’s why we ran her here; to find out once and for all if we thought that she could compete at a high level on the dirt as she could on turf and I think she pretty much answered that tonight. I was pretty optimistic going in honestly and after I saw the fractions I had lost quite a bit of my confidence but she came home the right way. We had been high on this filly and we really thought that she could break her maiden at Saratoga this summer and she never got the chance to get it, she got excluded. She had been a pretty unlucky filly up until now, and it looks like she’s getting it all put together.”

Calhoun made an equipment change in her maiden victory when adding blinkers, which he believes contributed to making a difference.

“I told the owner that I thought (adding blinkers) were a big part of it,” Calhoun said. “She was really looking at a lot of stuff and kept getting intimidated by things and wasn’t really focused. I do believe the blinkers made a good difference. We learned early on in training her that she needed a target and she wasn’t able to get a target. That’s how she got beat at Keeneland, she made the lead and was kind of lost and they nailed her.”

JOSE CASTANON SCORES PAIR OF WINS ON FRIDAY EVENING

Trainer Jose Castanon added to his already stellar Winter Meet at the Fair Grounds on Friday evening when scoring a pair of winners with Run To Glory (Race 3, $7) and Samargo (Race 6, $10.20).

“I like those two horses,” Castanon said “I thought that they would run well and they did, so that was nice.”

The native of Mexico had worked for numerous trainers including the likes of Jack Frost, Tim Glyshaw and Dallas Stewart. He currently has a stable of seven horses on the Fair Grounds backside and has made good use of them this meet having made four trips to the winner’s circle in nine starts on the meet.

“I always come with maybe two or three horses and this meet I knew that I had better stock to win races here,” Castanon said. “It seems like everything is working out and going the right way. I’ve just been working hard and putting them in the right direction.”

Castanon has one entered on Saturday’s card – Sunrise Hawk in the sixth race.

“I really like him,” Castanon said. “It’s a big step. I ran him last month for $25,000 as a first time starter and he’s a nice horse.”

RESTLESS RAMBLER GOES FOR FIVE STRAIGHT WINS ON SUNDAY

LTB Inc. and Miles Childers’ Restless Rambler will put a four-race winning streak on the line when he goes into the starting gate for Sunday’s fourth race, a 5½-furlong starter allowance event on the Stall-Wilson Turf Course.

Trained by Bernie Flint, the 5-year-old son of Ghostzapper enters the race off of a quartet of wins which include a pair of victories over the Indiana Grand main track in the fall before scoring two wins on the Fair Grounds lawn. He boats a record of 12 victories in 21 career starts as well as a 5-3-1-1 record when competing over the Stall Wilson-Turf Course.

“He’s a nice horse,” Flint’s assistant trainer Georgia Jackson said. “He’s been good to us; he just tries every time he goes out there. It would add another one to his belt.”

Perhaps Restless Rambler would be going for an eighth straight win on Sunday if it weren’t for a troubled trip at Indiana Grand in August, where he was third beaten three-quarters of a length. Prior to his unlucky effort, he had won two starter allowances over the Churchill Downs and Ellis Park main tracks.

“If you watch the race real close, he’s out in the middle of the racetrack and the horse on the inside bumps him and pushed him on out behind the other horse in front of him,” Jackson said. “He had to check, that was only going five-eighths of a mile. If he were going five and a half he still wins, but that’s what happens.”

The consistent Restless Rambler will receive the riding services of Corey Lanerie, who guided the horse to his most recent two wins.

MR. MISUNDERSTOOD TOPS SATURDAY’S WORK TAB

Staton Flurry’s turf titan Mr. Misunderstood returned to the work tab on Saturday morning and went a half-mile in :50 for trainer Brad Cox, who will point for the Gr. III $150,000 Fair Grounds Handicap on Feb. 17……Other notable works include Mike Stidham-trained pair of Streetlady and Supreme Aura who logged their first works since impressive allowance wins at the beginning of the month. Owned by DARRS Inc. Streetlady went a half-mile in :48 while her stable mate breezed the same distance in :49.20… The latter of the two Stidham workers is probable for the Gr. II $400,000 Risen Star on Feb. 17 (50-20-10-5) …Carl R. Moore’s three-time graded stakes winner Finley’sluckycharm went a half-mile in :48.40 for trainer Bret Calhoun, which her third serious work since a ninth-place finish in the Gr I Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar.