Hernandez Jr. Takes Two Stakes, Earning Him Jockey Of The Week Title Sponsored by:
Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.
After two stakes victories at Fair Grounds on “The Road to the Derby Kickoff Day,” Brian Hernandez Jr. was voted Jockey of the Week for January 11 through January 17. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.
Trainer Chris Block gave Hernandez, Jr. a leg up on Charlie s Penny in the Silverbulletday Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Dismissed at odds of 9.20-1, Charlie s Penny sat a clear stalking trip behind the pacesetter Littlestitious, then rallied on the turn for home and went on score an authoritative 3-1/4-length win.
Title Ready Notches First Stakes Victory, Upsetting Blackberry Wine And Wells Bayou In Louisiana Sponsored by:
Title Ready pulls away to win the Louisiana Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths under Brian Hernandez Jr.
Spoiling the comeback of Wells Bayou, winner of the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in 2020, the Charles Fipke homebred Title Ready kicked in with a strong stretch punch to win the G3 Louisiana Stakes for older horses at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., on Saturday.
Ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., the Dallas Stewart-trained son of More Than Ready covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.27, winning by 1 1/4 lengths and paying $13 as the fifth choice in the wagering. Seven horses went postward, with Wells Bayou the 2-1 favorite and Blackberry Wine second choice at 3-1.
Title Ready rallies for first stakes victory in Louisiana
Title Ready rallies for first stakes victory in Louisiana Photo:
Hodges Photography / Lou Hodges Jr.
Title Ready ran down pacesetter Blackberry Wine in deep stretch to win the $125,000
Louisiana Stakes for 4-year-olds and up at Fair Grounds on Saturday and earn his first career stakes victory for trainer Dallas Stewart.
Blackberry Wine broke in front and took the field nearly all the way around while carving moderate fractions of 25.28, 49.53, 1:13.91 and 1:38.05 for a mile. He was pursued for most of the race by last year s Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Wells Bayou, who was sent off the 2-1 favorite in his first start since last May
Louisiana preview: Good comeback spot for Wells Bayou
Fair Grounds Communications Photo:
Hodges Photography / Amanda Hodges Weir
It has been a long road back, but
Wells Bayou, who won last year’s Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, makes his much-anticipated return in Saturday’s $125,000
Louisiana (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
The 1 1/16-mile race is a key supporting feature on the six-stakes Road to the Derby card and could prove the pivotal comeback race in a 2021 handicap division lacking any true standouts.
Carded as race 10, the Louisiana is the second leg of the $100,000 guaranteed “All Stakes Pick Five” and the first leg of the $150,000 guaranteed “All Stakes Pick Four.” Both sequences conclude with the Lecomte (G3), which is carded as the finale on a 13-race extravaganza.
Sponsored by:
Mandaloun wins an allowance race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 28
The calendar has turned. The distances have increased. An extra turn has been added. The acid test beckons. Eleven 3-year-olds including the undefeated Mandaloun will assemble for Saturday s Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in the hopes of proving their mettle not only locally, but on the national scene as well, as thoughts turn to the first Saturday in May and the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve.
The sorting out process begins in the 1 1/16-mile Lecomte, which will offer 17 qualifying points for the Derby (10-4-2-1), and should prove a key stepping-stone to the local March 20 TwinSpires Louisiana Derby (G2) as well.