While the best Louisiana-bred in training, Touchuponastar, figures to make his annual appearance in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic next month at Fair Grounds, three $100,000 Louisiana-bred stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds have brought out a surprising number of talented entrants.
Touchuponastar, winner this past March facing open company in the Grade 2, $300,000 New Orleans Classic, dominates the dirt-route division, and in his absence the Jacob Morreale Memorial, carded for one mile and 70 yards on dirt, lacks the firepower of Saturday’s two dirt sprint stakes, the Andrew Ney Memorial and the Delmar Caldwell Memorial, the latter restricted to older fillies and mares.
The Ney brings out Geaux Sugar, whose win in the race’s 2024 renewal announced his presence as a divisional leader. Claimed for a mere $10,000 in May 2024 by Single Malt Stables and trainer Keith Bourgeois, Geaux Sugar has since put up an 11-6-3-1 record while remaining far removed from the claiming ranks. After capturing the Ney at 21-1, Geaux Sugar romped in the Louisiana Champions Day Sprint and this past spring captured the Costa Rising, a Fair Grounds turf sprint, and the King Creole at Evangeline Downs.
Finally, facing open company over yielding turf in the Chamberlain Bridge on May 26 at Lone Star, Geaux Sugar ran below his best form, but only slightly, and the gelding returned Oct. 10 from a long break shaking off rust to win under starter-allowance conditions at Delta Downs. That race that should have him primed for the Ney, though Geaux Sugar, who has Mitchell Murrill riding, drew the rail and faces stout competition.
Smash It, away from racing since February, makes his first start in Louisiana and first for trainer Brendan Walsh. Previously trained by Todd Fincher, Smash It held his own in Southern California maiden sprints with the likes of Citizen Bull, who three weeks ago nearly won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. His last form cycle ended with a whimper only because Smash It failed to transfer his sprint form to routes, and Smash It has been posting fast workouts at Keeneland.
Dapper Moon, El Dinero, and Not On Herb also could have a say.
Delmar Caldwell Memorial
The seven-runner Caldwell includes two very good fillies, Blue Fire and Secret Faith, who traded narrow decisions last winter at Fair Grounds and Delta. Blue Fire stretched out from sprints to win two later-meet Fair Grounds route stakes, then cut back to seven furlongs for the Grade 2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs and finished a laudable second. She makes her first start since the Eight Belles and drew the rail at a distance short of her best.
Secret Faith, a nine-time winner from a dozen starts, flopped two starts ago in the Charles Town Oaks but bounced right back to her better form beating the accomplished Free Like a Girl in the Magnolia at Delta. That seven-furlong race came around two turns, and while Secret Faith has proven capable over six furlongs, she also seems like the kind of filly who could be evolving more into a middle-distance type than a pure sprinter.
Jacob Morreale Memorial
The Morreale lacks anything like those two standout fillies, though the 11-runner field includes the first three home in the 2024 edition – Cosmic Train, Tdzshininluckystar, and Behemah Star.
Cosmic Train, a one-run closer, got up in the 2024 Morreale despite rallying into a slow pace, and on Saturday he returns from an 11-week layoff only slightly shorter than the break he had into last season’s victory. Tdzshininluckystar, who is cross-entered in the Ney, would be a pace factor from his rail draw, while Behemah Star totally lost his form during a three-race summer campaign.
Letmikefigureitout and Sippin On Gin have more upside than these more established horses who have taken turns beating each other the last couple years. Letmikefigureitout’s lone Fair Grounds appearance came in a $20,000 maiden-claiming sprint in March 2024, but the 4-year-old caught fire over the summer, running fast enough in routes to factor in the Morreale. Three-year-old Sippin On Gin is 5-3-2-0 in two-turn starts and eked out a victory in the Crescent City Derby last March. He hasn’t raced since Aug. 9 and could run better in the Champions Day Classic than in the Morreale.
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