SARACOSA SCORES FIRST STAKES WIN IN BOB FORTUS MEMORIAL

By Grant LaGrange —-

The day after Christmas hangover was cured for trainer Brendan P. Walsh and team as their 4-year old filly Saracosa got up in time to win the Bob Fortus Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds Racecourse by three quarters of a length in a final time of 1:43.09 at odds of 31/1. Out for a Spin finished second and Mariah’s Galaxy checked in third. The Bob Fortus Memorial, named for longtime local writer and Fair Grounds reporter who passed away last year, was run at one mile and seventy yards over a main track labeled fast.

Owned by Chad Schumer, Saracosa entered Thursday’s feature race off a second place finish in a first level allowance race at Churchill Downs in early November. The Bob Fortus was the 4-year-old daughter of Bernardini’s first career stakes win and now boosts her career record to 13-2-4-5 with $159,870 in career earnings.

Breaking from post 2, Saracosa and jockey Shaun Bridgmohan took back off the early pace setters sitting fifth in the field of six for the first two calls. Turning for home, longtime leader Out for a Spin dug in and fought Saracosa until the final sixteenth when the Brendan Walsh trained longshot edged away to just get up in time.

“We were always excited about bringing her here,” Walsh’s assistant trainer Paul Madden said after the win. “We thought the long stretch here would really suit her. She was a longshot but I was confident in her. I just told Shaun [Bridgmohan] to give her something to run at and she ran her race so we’re very excited.”

“Not sure where we’re going next,” Madden continued. “She likes it here so we’ll discuss some options and go from there.”

The 2019 Ashland (G1) winner Out For A Spin with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard was making her first start back in stakes company since running in the Kentucky Oaks in May,

“She ran good,” Hernandez Jr. said. “She’s a three-year-old and it was her first time running against older horses. She stepped up, she was a tough loss second, but we’ll take it.”

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About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, LA, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global