Pan Zareta winner filly Oeuvre broke alertly and relaxed professionally behind a pair of Louisiana-bred longshots before taking command in the stretch and winning Saturday's 4th running of the $100,000 Nelson J. Menard Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds by two lengths over seven other older females.
Campaigned by trainer Chris Block for owner-breeder Richard Perkins, Oeuvre covered 5 1/2 furlongs over a firm turf course with the rails 34 feet out in 1:06.26 under jockey Jareth Loveberry.
“It's been an honor to ride this filly,” Lovebery said. “She can break the front and relax. She can sit right off of it, which is what she did today. Very comfortable. And she does it on her own.”
Oeuvre, now with three stakes straight victories, was considered for the one-mile Pago Hop on New Year's Eve but connections decided to keep the 4-year-old Illinois-bred at her proven distance.
“A lot of the breeders in the state have proven that Illinois-breds travel well,” Block said. “We've thought about stretching her out and were actually looking at the Pago Hop (run on Dec 31). Mr. Perkins and I decided that we'd stay sprinting with her for now.”
Oeuvre broke outside the two early speedsters from post 7 and tracked from third as Charlie T led the field through fractions of :22.67 and :47.90.
Co-favored with Oeuvre at 2-1, Astute, the recent addition to the Brad Cox barn, who was making her first run in over 19 months, got shuffled back soon after the break. Aboukir Bay also settled far back, conceding as many as 12 lengths at the three-eighths pole. As Charlie T proved bold holding the lead at the top of the stretch, Loveberry asked and Oeuvre took over, and it was never in doubt she would be the winner.
Charlie T held on for second as comebackers Astute and Aboukir Bay rallied for third and fourth, respectively.
“Jareth (jockey Loveberry) is right,” Block said. “She relaxes really nice. She was kind of an aggressive filly back in the spring. Now she relaxes, which gives her an added dimension. Maybe we can stretch her out at some point. It's kind of hard to do that with how good she's been as a sprinter. She'll run on anything you ask her to. We have the whole season ahead of us. We just have to use the right judgment and pick the right spots. I'm happy to have her here at the Fair Grounds.”
The $60,000 first prize increased Oeuvre's career earnings to $413,126 from a record of 9-3-2 in 15 starts.
Sent off as the 2-1 co-favorite, Oeuvre paid $6.80 for the win.
Behind the top four, Eve's Delight, New Boss, Touch of Class, and Violenza completed the order of finish.
Oeuvre is a daughter of Shackleford out of the winning Kitten's Joy mare Love This Kitten.
The post Illinois-Bred Oeuvre Notches Third Consecutive Stakes Win With Nelson J. Menard Victory At Fair Grounds appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
