FAIR GROUNDS: AMERICA’S TALE GOES GATE TO WIRE IN TIFFANY LASS STAKES

By Ryan Martin —-

NEW ORLEANS (December 26, 2018) – In walk-the-dog fashion, America’s Tale powered home in the $75,000 Tiffany Lass Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Wednesday afternoon to score her third victory in a row.

Owned by Naveed Chowhan and ridden to victory by Colby Hernandez, the 3-year-old daughter of Gio Ponti broke sharply from the gate and went out on an uncontested lead and set fractions of 23.96, 47.52 and 1:12.38. When called on by Hernandez at the five-sixteenths pole, America’s Tale opened up on the rest of the field and glided home to win by 5¼ lengths in a time of 1.43.16. Shenendoah Queen closed late to finish second and Moonlit Garden took the show spot.

Completing the order of finish were Auspicious Babe, Hey Niki and Frost Wise.

“I had a nice easy trip up front and when I called on her she just went on,” Hernandez said.

The win was one of three victories scored by Hernandez on the Boxing Day card. He collected wins with Mandy Blue (Race 2, $15.60) and Juneberris Sound (Race 11, $3.00) in the finale.

Trained by Bernie Flint, the Tiffany Lass Stakes was a second stakes victory for America’s Tale who last out won the Safely Kept Stakes at Laurel Park on November 10. Prior to that, she defeated second level allowance company over the main track at Churchill Downs. Both races were won in wire-to-wire fashion

“I thought she would do well and she proved it today,” said Flint’s assistant Georgia Jackson. “Sometimes she can be a handful and wanting to buck and play a little but the older she’s getting, the better she’s getting. She really started coming back around against when we took her back up to Churchill and now she’s getting better as she got older. I thought she had a good shot but she’s against older fillies and mares and she’s just three.”

Wednesday afternoon’s win enhanced America’s Tale’s lifetime earnings to $269,823. She has now won five of her 15 career starts.

America’s Tale rewarded her backers in payouts of $8.20, $3.40 and $2.60 while Shenandoah Queen returned $2.80 and $2.20. Moonlit Garden brought back $3.20.

America’s Tale was bred in Kentucky by Madeline Auerbach & Catherine Parke and is out of the Unusual Heat broodmare America’s Friend, who was a stakes winner on turf. She was purchased by Chowhan from last year’s Fasig-Tipton Mid-Atlantic Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale for $100,000. She was consigned by Eisaman Equine.

BLACK GOLD CARRYOVER REACHES $74,994 HEADING INTO THURSDAY CARD

A total of $74,994 will be carried over into the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots’ Black Gold 5, a bet which only pays out the entire pool if there is a single winning ticket.

Live racing action resumes on Thursday, December 27 at 12:30 p.m. central time. The Black Gold will begin in Race 5, which has a scheduled post time of 2:24 p.m. central time.

About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots (“Fair Grounds”), the nation’s third-oldest racetrack, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, LA, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN). Fair Grounds also operates 14 OTBs (12 with video poker facilities) throughout southeast Louisiana. Live racing at Fair Grounds returns in the fall with the 147th Thoroughbred Racing Season – highlighted by the 106th running of the Louisiana Derby in March of 2019. More information can be found online at www.fairgroundsracecourse.com.

Photos Courtesy of Hodges Photography