Fair Grounds Barn Notes: Tuesday, November 13

By Ryan Martin —-

NINETY ONE ASSAULT MAKES STAKES DEBUT IN MR. SULU; Hodges Photography

Remember Daisy Returns To Grass In Tom Benson Memorial
Johnston Seeks Big Weekend With Stakes Contenders
Ninety One Assault Makes Stakes Debut In Mr. Sulu

REMEMBER DAISY RETURNS TO GRASS IN TOM BENSON MEMORIAL

Al and Bill Ulwelling’s Remember Daisy will see a change in tactics when she goes back to turf in Thursday’s Opening Day featured event, the $50,000 Tom Benson Memorial Overnight Stakes.

Trained by Gary Scherer, the 3-year-old daughter of Misremembered has not raced over grass since running third over Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots’ Stall-Wilson Turf Course on January 18, where she was third beaten 3¼ lengths against fellow state-breds which also was her first time facing winners. In her prior start, Remember Daisy broke her maiden over the New Orleans lawn in her career debut on December 26 by 3½ lengths.

Remember Daisy has found the winner’s circle on two other occasions, both times on the main track at Delta Downs. She won the Louisiana Bred Premier Night Starlet Stakes on February 10 by 3½ lengths and returned from a five-month layoff in victorious fashion when romping to a ten-length victory against state-bred allowance company at the Vinton, La. oval on October 20.

In addition, the Tom Benson will be Remember Daisy’s first start at the Fair Grounds since finishing a troubled third in the Crescent City Oaks on March 24 behind four-time stakes winner Testing One Two. In Thursday’s one mile test, Scherer will be hoping for a clean trip around the first turn which he says will be an important ingredient to a positive result.

“She handled the turns well (at Delta Downs),” Scherer said. “She usually doesn’t handle turns that well. She tries to get out some on them and she can be a difficult little girl when it comes to that. You just have to try not to mess with her and not get into her mouth much. In the Crescent City Oaks, Testing One Two won easily but I think they would have been head-to-head at the finish with a better trip. She just got behind horses and wanted to go and just couldn’t relax. Her head was facing straight up. The whole way around the first turn, (jockey) Mitchell (Murrill) is grabbing on her because she wants to go and can’t get out. She doesn’t relax that well behind horses.”

Scherer has an ideal first turn scenario in mind and hopes that the early stages of the race unfold according to it.

“The first turn could be very interesting,” Scherer continued. “I would hope that it will spread out enough to where she’s not sitting four horses on her outside and two horses sitting in front of her. Ideally, there would be two or three in front of her and she’s sitting on the outside of them about three lengths off the pace with no one really to her outside. As long as she gets around the first turn well, I think we’ll be alright.”

In six career starts, Remember Daisy only has one off-the-board finish in the Grade III Selene Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack on May 19 where she was a well-beaten eighth.

“She’s coming in very well,” Scherer said. “Other than the race at Woodbine this will be the toughest race that she has run in, but these are the ones she’s going to have to run against if she’s going to be a Louisiana-bred stakes horse. She’ll run well on turf or dirt, at least it seems like it. I trained her mother (Very Speightstown) and claimed her after first start. She was similar in that she would run on turf or dirt.”

Jockey Mitchell Murrill will return to the irons for Thursday’s race, where Remember Daisy will break from post two at 8-1 odds.

JOHNSTON SEEKS BIG WEEKEND WITH STAKES CONTENDERS

A successful beginning to the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots racing season could await trainer Eddie Johnston, who sends out contenders in three of the first four stakes of the meet.

In the November 15 Opening Day feature, the $50,000 Tom Benson Memorial Overnight Stakes, Johnston will run Pacific Pink who seeks a ninth stakes victory in the one mile test for Louisiana-bred fillies and mares over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course.

Owned by Keith Plaisance, the 6-year-old daughter of Private Vow has excelled at the stakes level on both dirt and turf but only one of her eight stakes wins took place on turf when she romped to a five-length victory in the Elge Raspberry Stakes at Louisiana Downs in September 2015. Pacific Pink spent the latter part of her summer campaign under the care of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, for whom she made two starts both of which were off-the-board finishes against graded stakes company. She returned to Johnston’s Louisiana operation in style last time out when taking the Magnolia Stakes at Delta Downs on October 19.

“I expect her to be lay off of the pace,” Johnston said. “With the turf, it’s totally different pace than on the dirt. It’s a slower pace where everyone finishes more. On dirt, everyone doesn’t finish quite as fast so it’s harder for her to gain ground on it. The big race ($100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Distaff) will be (a mile-and-a-sixteenth), she ran second in it last year and got beat two lengths. We could take her to Delta for the ($125,000 Louisiana Premier Night) Distaff in February. She likes it there, she finishes well at Delta and she won that race last year. What’s nice is that the owner is letting me keep her and he’s going to breed her eventually.”

Pacific Pink was purchased for $90,000 from the Ocala Breeders’ Sale Company’s Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale in April 2014 where she was consigned by Robert Brewer. She has turned out to be quite the return on investment with total career earnings of $717,770.

Johnston cross-entered John Carbo and William Deckwa Jr.’s Grande Basin in Friday’s Mr. Sulu Overnight Stakes and Saturday’s Heitai Overnight Stakes (both $50,000), but will opt for the latter of the two races with the 6-year-old son of Good and Tough. He ran third in last year’s running of Heitai behind Stand Him Up and finished fourth in the 2016 edition.

“I think we’ll go to the sprint just because of the post position,” Johnston said. “I drew (the outside of twelve) on (Pacific) Pink and him. With Pink it doesn’t matter because she’ll sit back and make her run, but I’m probably going to the sprint with (Grande Basin).”

In 43 career starts, Grande Basin has won six races, all of which took place at the Fair Grounds. Last December, Grande Basin was only a nose away from beating Louisiana legend Mobile Bay in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic.

“He doesn’t like it anywhere else,” Johnston said. “He’s had some opportunities to really do well He only got beat a nose in the big race last year, but one year he won three in a row here on the dirt. He’s getting older and I just think the twelve-hole would kill us.”

Grande Basin will attempt to end a 14-race losing streak. His last trip to the winner’s circle took place in the Star Guitar Stakes in April 2017 which also is his lone stakes win. He will break from post four in the Heitai under Miguel Mena.

On Sunday, Johnston will send Light Her Up for the $50,000 Happy Ticket Overnight Stakes, which will be her first start since a fourth place finish against allowance company at Evangeline Downs on April 25. Said effort ended a four-race win streak for the 4-year-old daughter of Tizway.

“She came back with a little issue after she ran fourth at Evangeline,” Johnston said. “It wasn’t much but we sent her home gave her four months off, but we brought her back and now she’s ready. She’s been working real well going into the race.”

Johnston nominated two-time winner Is Too for the Happy Ticket, but will race her in a second level state-bred allowance event on Friday, November 23.

“We’re not trying to rush her too much,” Johnston said of Is Too. “She’s still a young horse and she seems to be alright. Last time she ran she was off for three months and went to the deep track at Delta. It was a little deep for her she just got tired.”

Light Her Up is owned and bred by Keith Plaisance and will be ridden by Miguel Mena in the Happy Ticket.

NINETY ONE ASSAULT MAKES STAKES DEBUT IN MR. SULU

Trainer Tom Morley is happy to bring two-time Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots winner Ninety One Assault back to the New Orleans oval for a crack at a stakes victory in Friday’s $50,000 Mr. Sulu Overnight Stakes, where he is the lukewarm 4-1 morning line favorite.

Owned by Morley in partnership with Paul Braverman, the 5-year-old son of Artie Schiller has yet to race at the stakes level, but has the advantage of familiarity with the Stall-Wilson Turf Course with a pair of wins over the local lawn this past March. Shaun Bridgmohan piloted the gelding in both races, which were both run at the Mr. Sulu’s distance of one mile. Since his successful meet last season, Ninety One Assault has recorded a trio of starts. He raced over the turf at Monmouth Park on May 5 where he finished third beaten 3½ lengths against open allowance company. He did not race again until September where he finished eighth in a turf allowance race at Monmouth, but made amends for that effort when finishing third beaten a neck behind stakes-placed Clyde’s Image in an allowance race over a yielding turf at Belmont Park on October 4.

“He needs to have some speed to settle behind,” Morley said. “Obviously he had a quite a productive winter last winter with back-to-back allowance wins and he had decent run at Monmouth. Obviously with him being a Louisiana-bred it was worth giving him time off to prepare for a race like this and he seems to have done well physically with that time off. He appears to have put on some weight. We picked up the race at Belmont because it was the right distance and right timing for the Fair Grounds and I thought that he ran unbelievably well there. In a couple more strides he probably would have won.”

With a positive effort from Ninety One Assault in the Mr. Sulu, Morley would likely race him back in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Turf Stakes on December 8.

“We’re pointing toward Louisiana Champions Day,” Morley said. “This is obviously an important race but on paper he certainly looks like he’ll be competitive. He won’t mind the rain that’s coming; he did handle a little cut in the ground at Belmont. Also, Shaun rides him very well. I don’t want to say he’s a difficult horse to ride but you certainly need to know how to ride him so I hope they can resume their winning ways.”

Morley went on to speak of Donegal Racing’s Carrick, who gave the trainer his second Grade I victory when taking the Secretariat Stakes at Arlington International Race Course back in August The 3-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway is likely to campaign at Fair Grounds this winter, but will make one more start this year in the Grade I $300,000 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on December 1.

Photos Courtesy of Hodges Photography