2023 Louisiana Champions Day
The “Stars” certainly aligned despite the clouds on Saturday December 9 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for the 33rd annual Louisiana Champions Day.
The 13-race card was packed top to bottom with the best Louisiana-breds and included nine stakes races across all divisions. Louisiana’s super sire Star Guitar added to his blistering resume with three stakes victories - headlined by two-time $150,000 Champions Day Classic winner Touchuponastar.
Bred, owned and now standing stud for Brittlyn Stable’s Evelyn Benoit, Star Guitar made Fair Grounds Champions Day his playground winning on this card five years in a row between 2007-2011. Now, his progeny have taken the baton winning nine races since 2017.
“This is what it’s all about to breed and race in Louisiana and have a stallion like him in Louisiana,” Benoit said. “He deserves this kind of success and my goal is to have Louisiana people breed to him. I’m so excited and just hope it continues.”
Louisiana Champions Day Classic
TOUCHUPONASTAR
Star Guitar-Touch Magic, by Lion Heart
Owner: Set-Hutt, LLC • Breeder: Coteau Grove Farms
Trainer: Jeff Delhomme • Jockey: Timothy Thornton
Touchuponastar with jockey Timothy Thornton aboard pulls away to win the 32nd running of the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Lou Hodges, Jr.
Touchuponastar Ends Year With Record-Setting Classic Victory
Set-Hut LLC’s prized state-bred Touchuponastar coasted to his second straight $150,000 Champions Day Classic win in record-setting fashion under jockey Tim Thornton.
The strapping 4-year-old son of Star Guitar out of the Lion Heart mare Touch Magic used his front-running style to make every call in the 1-⅛ mile test stopping the clock in a stakes record time of 1:50.12, best in the 33-year history of the race.
Trained by Jeff Delhomme, Touchuponastar repelled a far turn bid by the graded stakes placed colt Tumbarumba, who was making his first start against older horses under Florent Geroux. With Tumbarumba on the attack Thornton called on Touchupon-astar for his best and he quickly opened up a three length lead in the stretch. Tumbarumba never stopped trying to re-engage, falling 1-¼-lengths short at the wire. It was another zip code back to Set Hut’s other entrant Cosmic Train in third followed by Bayou Jam in the four-horse field.
“He’s all class,” Thornton said. “I knew when he got away clean in the first jump that they were going to have to run today to beat him. I was in-hand waiting. He’s such a great horse, they’ve done such a great job with him. It’s a joy to ride him.”
With a lifetime mark of 10-2-1 from 13 starts, including winning 6 of 7 starts in 2023, could Touchuponastar venture back into open company where he suffered his only defeat this year - a valiant second place finish in the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park.
“The Louisiana breeders program is so great over here,” Jeff Delhomme said. “It gives us the opportunity to run for good money. We don’t need to chase big purses. We can stay right here. Would we like another chance next year in the Steve Sexton? Yes. Maybe try him this year in the (G2) New Orleans Classic? Yes. I don’t think we need to go too far to take on better competition but I think these Louisiana-breds are giving us all we can handle right now.”
Bred in Louisiana by Keith and Ginger Myers’ Coteau Grove Farm, the victory elevated Touchuponastar as the richest offspring by his sire with $618,100 in earnings to date.
“What’s special is where we are,” said Keith Myers, who also bred the runner up Tumbarumba and third place finisher Cosmic Train. “We’re here at home in Louisiana. We’re very close to Jake (Delhomme), and we see the Delhommes as our family. Having success together makes it more special. To have three who were bred at the farm run one, two, three; it’s quite rewarding. Touchuponastar was big and athletic (as a yearling), but I don’t remember having thoughts that this was going to be the one. It was really a little bit of a surprise.”
Louisiana Champions Day Turf
BEHEMAH STAR
Star Guitar - Saintly Joan by Northern Afleet
Owner: Brittlyn Stable, Inc. • Breeder: Brittlyn, Inc.
Trainer: Shane Wilson • Jockey: J. A Guerrero
Behemah Star with J. A. Guerrero aboard captures the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Turf at Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Lou Hodges, Jr.
Behemah Star Pulls 18-1 Upset in Turf
Sometimes a plan just works. Behemah Star denied Who Took The Money’s bid for a third straight $100,000 Champions Day Turf trophy with a valiant upset effort under Jose Guerrero.
With the rail out 16 feet on the Stall-Wilson turf course, Guerrero pressed 100-1 longshot Sonya Knows Better through fractions of 24.09 and 49.82 for a half mile. Behemah Star inherited the lead on the far turn and had enough left in the tank to hold off the closing effort of Who Took The Money by 1-¼-lengths. Woods N Water was third in the eight horse field.
It was the second Champions Day Turf win for Brittlyn Stable who won this race with Magic Vow in 2018.
Trainer Shane Wilson had cross-entered the son of Star Guitar in the Classic, where he finished second last year to Touchuponastar. But this time Wilson chose the weeds for his charge to try and steal one close up on the front end.
“That was the total plan,” Wilson said. We entered both races. Earlier in the week I got beat on the turf when speed went to the front and we tried to be tactical but they didn’t come back to us. I handicapped this race and didn’t see any speed in here so we decided to go in this spot. He had run once on the turf and he was forward the whole race and ran second. We wanted to do something similar again today. It worked out.”
Guerrero was quick to compliment the effort of Behemah Star.
“The plan was to get him out aggressively from the gate,” he said. “I was able to get in a perfect spot behind the inside horse (Sonya Knows Better) and he slowed down so I slowed down with him, saving energy, and when we got the three-eighths pole he exploded and finished it off in front from there.”
The 5-year-old gelding upped his earnings to $309,821 with his first turf win. It was also his first win of the year from seven starts mainly against state-bred stakes company. He now owns a career mark of 5-5-4 from 19 starts.
Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Distaff
FREE LIKE A GIRL
El Deal - Flashy Prize by Flashy B
Owner: Gerald Bruno Jr., Chasey Deville Pomier and Jerry Caroom • Breeder: Kim Renee Stover & Lisa Osborne Trainer: Chasey Deville Pomier • Jockey: Vicente Del-Cid
Free Like A Girl with jockey Vicente Del-Cid wins the Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Distaff at Fair Grounds.
Free Like A Girl continues to be a gift that keeps on giving for her Louisiana connections. Owned in partnership by her trainer Chasey Pomier, Gerald Bruno Jr. and Jerry Caroom, Free Like A Girl proved her versatility with a front-running win in the $100,000 Champions Day Ladies Distaff.
Under a heady ride from jockey Vicente Del-Cid, the 4-year-old El Deal filly cleared the field going into the first turn and established comfortable fractions of 24.10 and 47.99 for the half-mile. She con-tinued to draw away from the rest of the field entering the stretch under moderate urging, stopping the clock in 1:44.49 for 1-1/16-miles on the main track.
“Today she was feeling really good,” Del-Cid said. “I tried to wait but she was ready to go so I let her go and do it.”
A.G’s Charlotte, last year’s Distaff queen, settled for second, four and quarter lengths behind the winner. Sabra Tuff was third in the eight-horse field.
“We made the decision to run in the Distaff instead of the Ladies Sprint this morning,” Pomier said after the race. “It’s what we needed to do for her. We thought about the route race last year but ended up going in the Sprint (2nd to Ova Charged). She’s matured since then and we thought she could go the distance today. Going right to the lead was not in my plan but it worked today.”
The multiple graded stakes placed filly ended her year with 6 wins from 11 starts.
Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile
GOOD AND STOUT
Coal Front - Ready Witted by More Than Ready
Owner: Whispering Oaks Farm LLC • Breeder: Adcock's Red River Farm, LLC & HumeWornall Trainer: Carrol Castille • Jockey: C.J. McMahon
Sometimes a good rivalry takes a while to develop. But in the case of the Louisiana-bred Juvenile division this year the rivalries were on full display at Fair Grounds where division honors were on the line in the Champions Day Juvenile.
After being disqualified from victory at Delta in the Legacy Stakes in October, Whispering Oaks Farm’s Good and Stout got his nose down on the wire to win the $100,000 Juvenile over a hard-charging El Dinero in the nine-horse field, five of which partici-pated in the Legacy Stakes at Delta. “This colt has been great from day one,” said trainer Carrol Castille, who also owns Whispering Oaks Farm. “We had a little misfortune at Delta. That DQ was tough, but it’s horse racing and you have to just roll with it. He showed his talent and we got some redemption today, that’s all that matters.”
Jockey C.J. McMahon got some redemption as well with his first win of the meet. McMahon saved ground with the son of Coal Front while waiting for room in the stretch. Good and Stout split rivals at the three-sixteenths pole and was able to hold off El Dinero on his inside and Sounds Like Power in third on his outside.
“He put us where we needed to be early in the race,” McMahon said. “Once we turned for home I was just waiting for an opportunity to split horses or stay on the fence, whatever opened first. When I asked him, he responded.”
Good and Stout returned $11.60 as the fourth choice in the race, while race favorite Strong Promise settled for sixth.
Louisiana Champions Day Lassie
ACCOMODATE EVA
Munnings - Accomodate by Pleasantly Perfect
Owner: Valene Farms LLC • Breeder: Brad King & Todd Fincher Trainer: Dallas Stewart • Jockey: B J Hernandez Jr.
Jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. makes a late charge to capture the Louisiana Champions Day Lassie.
Valene Farms’ Accommodate Eva unleashed a furious last-to-first rally down the middle of the long Fair Grounds stretch to prevail by three-quarters of a length over Clearly A Test in the $100,000 Champions Day Lassie Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
Ridden by Brian Hernandez, Accommodate Eva was sent off third choice in the wagering at odds of 4.30-to-1 in the 13 horse field. Accommodate Eva turned the tables on Cleary A Test who defeated her in last month’s Donovan L. Ferguson Memorial Stakes, contested at 5-½ furlongs on the dirt. Accommodate Eva broke from the 13 post in that race and was caught wide throughout while Clearly A Test saved ground and rallied from the rail draw.
In the Lassie, Cleary A Test was drawn outside in the 11-hole of 13 starters while Accommodate Eva broke from midpack in the sixth post position. Accommodate Eva was able to use the extra half-fur-long to her advantage crossing the wire in 1:11.98 for six furlongs.
“I love this filly. She trains great all the time and it means a lot to win races here on Champions Day for Murray Valene,” trainer Dallas Stewart said. “He puts a lot into Louisiana racing and we love Champions Day. We really think this filly has a bright future ahead of her and will end up being a nice two-turn filly.”
Valene purchased the filly over the phone at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale for $25,000. She has rewarded them with an open company maiden win at Keeneland, a trip to the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies and now a stakes win in her home state.
“I had the vet check her out and everything came back good,” Valene said. “Believe me it’s a lot of luck. We named her after my wife whose middle name is Eva so she is hers. It’s just good fortune and a lot of luck with a good train-er and good people around her.”
It was the third win in the Champions Day Lassie for Murray Valene’s Valene Farms following Kwik Kash (2001) and Big Time (2018). Big Time’s win came with the same connections - Stewart training and Hernandez riding.
Louisiana Champions Day Sprint
MANGUM
Mo Tom - Bovell Road by Graeme Hall Owner: Set-Hut LLC • Breeder: Adcock's Red River Farm, LLC & J. Adcock Trainer: Jeff Delhomme • Jockey: Corey Lanerie
Mangum with Corey Lanerie finds his way through to the finish line in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint.
Set Hut LLC’s Mangum found an opening on the inside under Corey Lanerie and weaved his way to victory in the final yards of the $100,000 Champions Day Sprint.
Breaking from the 13-hole in an oversubscribed 14-horse field, Mangum took back after the start and was 13th through the first quarter mile. Lanerie saved ground before moving five-wide into the turn. With a wall of horses in front of him mid-track the veter-an journeyman dove down to the inside where it was clear sailing to the wire.
Winner of the Jacob V. Morreale, going 1 mile and 70 yards over opening weekend under Lanerie, Mangum covered the six furlong dash in 1:10.83.
“Hats off to the entire team,” said Lanerie. “They had this horse Spring 2024 ready. He was a lot better than the last time I rode him. We took a lot of dirt early and I was running out of goggles. We had to find some-where to go. I was rerouting and we found a hole and luckily we had the horse to do it. It’s fun when you get there in time because a lot of times you don’t.”
Bred by Adcock’s Red River Farm, LLC & J. Adcock and trained by Jeff Delhomme, Mangum ends the year on a five-race winning streak. Named for Jake Delhomme’s Carolina Panther tight end teammate Kris Mangum, the rising 3-year-old son of Mo Tom now boasts a 12-7-1-3 lifetime record with $315,360 in earnings.
“Jake (brother Delhomme) studied the (Racing) Form last night,” Jeff said. “And the best numbers he threw were sprinting at Evangeline and Delta so we took a chance (running in the Sprint) and it worked out. We’ve got the entire family here. Winning big races on a day like this is like a dream come true.”
It was the second year in a row Lanerie piloted the winner of the Sprint after winning aboard Big Chopper in 2022. Race favorite Bron and Brow survived a stretch inquiry by jockey C.J. McMahon on Highland Creek to retain sec-ond. Mike J settled for third for the second year in a row.
Mangum gave his owners two lucrative wins on the day after Touchuponastar annexed the Classic earlier on the card.
Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Starter
SERAPE
Cinco Charlie - Panna Maria by Flatter
Owner: Brett A. Brinkman • Breeder: Spanish Cross Stables, LLC
Longshot Serape wins the Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Starter.
Brett Brinkman’s Serape kicked off Champions Day with a 10-1 upset win in the $50,000 Ladies Starter Stakes.
Ridden by Thomas Pompell, the 4-year-old bay filly by Cinco Charlie out of the Flatter mare Panna Maria bested four other rivals with a grinding stretch run to score a half-length win over odds-on favorite Thetruthisthetruth.
The veteran filly scored the fourth win of her 22-race career for Brinkman, who also trains her. Three of her four lifetime wins have come at Fair Grounds.
Serape returned $22.80 as the longest shot in the five-horse field finishing with a final time of 1:06.80 for 5-½-furlongs on the dirt.
Louisiana Champions Day Starter
BOOTSIE’S GALAXY
Greeley's Galaxy - Ide Better Run by Ide
Owner: End Zone Athletics, Inc. • Breeder: Lorlow Stables, LLC
Trainer: Karl Broberg • Jockey: R. Giuterrez
Bootsie's Galaxy wit/h Reylu Gutierrez aboard wins the Louisiana Champions Day Starter.
End Zone Athletics Inc.’s Bootsie’s Galaxy cruised to a convincing 5-¼-lengths win over Dixie Street
Trained by Karl Broberg, Bootsie’s Galaxy made .40-to-1 favoritism stand firm in the five-horse field. Ridden by Reylu Gutierrez, Bootsie’s Galaxy stopped the Teletimer in 1:05.15 for 5-½-furlongs on the dirt.
The venerable 7-year-old son of Greely’s Galaxy ended his ‘23 campaign with three straight wins for a 16-7-6-1 record for the year and overall earnings of $313,122.