Black Hornet got a perfect trip from jockey Declan Cannon and got the money in the $100,000 Black Gold Stakes, the featured race Saturday at Fair Grounds.
Black Hornet ($16.80) sat in the pocket as 2-5 favorite Touch of Fire set slow splits of 24.09 seconds for the quarter-mile and 49.74 for the half in this two-turn turf race for 3-year-olds. Based on the win odds and the ease with which he had captured his lone start, Touch of Fire figured to take all manner of beating after turning for home. Instead, he could not press his advantage as Sunrise attacked immediately to his flank and two more rivals stacked up farther outside.
Meanwhile, Cannon bided his time, waiting for the traffic to clear, and steered Black Hornet out for his run. Black Hornet picked up nicely, collared Touch of Fire at the furlong grounds, and pushed out to win by 1 1/4 lengths, getting 1 1/16 miles on a firm course in 1:44.03.
Touch of Fire held second by two lengths over McCready, who had a terrible trip from the start nearly to the finish and ran well to snare the show. Swift Blade, Touch of Fire’s Brad Cox-trained stablemate, was scratched to run in an Oaklawn dirt allowance race Saturday.
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Brendan Walsh trains Black Hornet for his breeder, Calumet Farm, and Black Hornet, a son of Essential Quality and the More Than Ready mare Brattata, has found a home on grass. Winless after four dirt starts, Black Hornet cleared the maiden ranks Feb. 5 in his grass debut and followed that with his Saturday stakes score.
Louisiana-bred stakes
Cajun Chrome and Braken Poppa dominated a pair of Louisiana-bred dirt-route stakes for 3-year-olds on Saturday, while Boss of All Bosses and Highly Wicked won grass stakes for older Louisiana-breds.
Connections entered Cajun Chrome ($3.80) in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday but scratched in favor of an easier spot facing statebred-restricted competition in the $100,000 Louisiana Stallion of the Year Star Guitar. Cajun Chrome dominated.
Taking an early lead in his first two-turn race, Cajun Chrome got an easy opening half-mile in 48.97 seconds and blew the doors off the race turning for home. Widening through the stretch, he won by 6 3/4 lengths, stopping the timer in 1:42.08 for one mile and 70 yards over a fast dirt track.
Bubby, who chased the pace while racing for just the second time and making his route debut, held second, 4 3/4 lengths ahead of late-running third-place finisher The Babeslayer. Joe Sharp trains Cajun Chrome, a son of Volatile and the Malibu Moon mare Funny Moon, for Three Diamonds Farm.
Braken Poppa ($4) also impressed in the $100,000 Louisiana Broodmare of the Year Charged Cotton.
Sitting comfortably just outside pacesetting Thrill Seeker, the 6-5 second choice, Braken Poppa and Brian Hernandez Jr. both went patiently down the backside and partway around the far turn. With about five-sixteenths of a mile remaining in this short-stretch, one-mile contest, Hernandez gently nudged Braken Poppa, who quickly drew alongside Thrill Seeker and forged to the lead.
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The margin was about three-quarters of a length as the fillies straightened for home, and at the finish, Braken Pappa had stretched her advantage to 9 1/2 lengths while not being asked for anything close to her best, getting her mile in 1:38.20. Thrill Seeker held second, two lengths ahead of Fade to Gold.
Steve Asmussen trains Braken Poppa for Bradley Kent and Ken Reimer, and the filly, after a debut second while sprinting, has gone 3 for 3 in two-turn races. Bred by Natalie Montgomery and Jim Montgomery, Braken Poppa is by Aurelius Maximus and out of Fab Fox, by Yes It’s True.
Meanwhile, in the $100,000 Red Camelia, Highly Wicked ($4.80) turned a fine ride from Marcelino Pedroza Jr. into a three-quarter-length victory running down stubborn pacesetter Kalil. Jus Press Star, a 72-1 shot, got third by a nose over even-money favorite Rising Inflation, who’d beaten Highly Wicked in the Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Turf earlier this meet but did not fire Saturday.
Sam David trains Highly Wicked for her breeders, Earl Hernandez, Keith Hernandez, and John Duvieilh. Highly Wicked is by Wicked Strong out of Highly Confused, by Rahy.
In the $100,000 Eddie Johnston Memorial, Boss of All Bosses won his third race in a row, getting an easy lead under Ben Curtis and going wire to wire. The favorite, Boss of All Bosses paid $5.40 and ran 1 1/16 miles on grass in 1:44.06, comfortably besting runner-up Laser Clad and third-place Cajun Mitole.
Mike Maker trains Boss of All Bosses for Paradise Farms, David Staudacher, Angelo Carlesimo, and Gata Racing Stable. Bred by Jay Adcock and Montgomery Equine Center, Boss of All Bosses is by Street Boss out of Tensas Salt, by Salt Lake.
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