Fair Grounds: Oeuvre and Ova Charged Set to Battle in the Mardi Gras

By Kevin Kilroy —-

12/3/2022 – Jareth Loveberry pilots Oeuvre to vicoty in the 57th running of the Pan Zareta Stakes at Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Lou Hodges, Jr.

New Orleans, La (Feb. 10, 2024) – Two top female sprinters at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will battle it out for supremacy as Richard Perkins’ Oeuvre and Brittlyn Stable’s Ova Charged face seven other older fillies and mares in the 80th running of the $100,000 Mardi Gras Stakes. Oversubscribed with 12 entries and slated as the 8th race of 9 on Tuesday, Feb. 13, the 5 1/2 furlong turf sprint will be run with the portable rail set at 21 feet.

The Nelson J. Menard winner trained by Chris Block, Oeuvre was tabbed as the 3-1 morning line favorite. As versatile and game as they come, the 5-year-old mare has won 15 races at 5 different tracks on dirt, on turf, sprinting and routing. Having swept the female sprint series last year at Fair Grounds, the 5-year-old Shackleford mare bred in Illinois will break from post 7 with Jareth Loveberry aboard, attempting to rack up her second Mardi Gras.

Two-for-two at the meet and 10-for-13 lifetime, Ova Charged has proven time and again that she is the best female Louisiana-bred sprinter in training. Only one of those wins was against open filly and mare company, as she signs on to face in the Mardi Gras. In her one breeze since her dominant victory in the Bob F. Wright, the daughter of Star Guitar went 4 furlongs in :52 flat on Feb. 7. Trained by Shane Wilson, the seven-length winner of the 2022 Page Cortez over the Stall Wilson turf course will make just her second start on the sod.

“After we got that first race under her belt, she’s good to go (and doesn’t need sharp morning breezes to prepare),” Wilson said. “I really want to see her run on the turf. She’s ran one time before (in the Page Cortez) and ran a 92 Beyer, winning by 7 1/2 lengths. Her mother never won a race on the dirt or sprinting. Charged Cotton was a route, turf horse.”

Made the 4-1 3rd choice in the morning line, the Brittlyn Stable homebred will be guided from post 3 by Jose Guerrero.

John Donaldson’s Carimba returns to Fair Grounds in search of a second stakes victory after running third in the off-the-turf Menard. The Rey Hernandez-trainee sports five wins sprinting on grass, including her score in November’s Pan Zareta. Marcelino Pedroza Jr. returns above the 7-2 morning line second choice and will break from gate 2.

Horseshoe Racing’s Redifined returns after running third in the Pan Zareta last out. With multiple-stakes-placings, including a neck shy in the 2022 Matron (G3), the More Than Ready filly trained by Michelle Lovell has had three drills since scratching out of the Menard.

“It’s a tough race, a really good bunch this year,” Lovell said. “But (Redifined) has been training great. She’s going to have to fight it out and close on them.”

Jaime Torres gets the call and will break Redifined from post 4.

Here’s the complete field for the $100,000 Mardi Gras Stakes from the rail out (with jockey, trainer, and morning line): 1. Dana’s Beauty (Joel Rosario, Joe Sharp, 20-1); 2. Carimba (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., 7-2); 3. Ova Charged (Jose Guerrero, Shane Wilson, 4-1); 4. Redifined (Jaime Torres, Michelle Lovell, 6-1); 5. Brandon’smylawyer (Brian Hernandez Jr., Mike Stidham, 10-1); 6. Poppy Flower (James Graham, Bill Mott, 5-1); 7. Oeuvre (Jareth Loveberry, Chris Block, 3-1); 8. Sweet Temperament (Jose Luis Rodriguez, Keith Bourgeois, 10-1); 9. Breeze Easy (Edgar Morales, Wayne Catalano, 15-1); AE 10. Jumpin Judy (Rey Gutierrez, Karl Broberg, 15-1); AE 11. Lady Hideaway (Joel Rosario, Al Stall Jr., 12-1); AE 12. Naughty Lottie (Ben Curtis, Eduardo Ramirez, 20-1).

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