Rallying far out in the middle of the Fair Grounds turf course, Lothenbach Stables' homebred Captivating Moon upset the apple cart at odds of 43-1, getting up in the final sixteenth of a mile to win Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes in New Orleans, La.
Trained by Chris Block and ridden by Marcelino Pedroza, the 6-year-old son of Malibu Moon was 1 3/4 lengths ahead at the finish, covering 1 1/8 miles on the soft Fair Grounds turf in 1:50.27 and paying $89 on a $2 bet.
Logical Myth finished second, edging Peace Achieved by a head, with Set Piece a nose bacj in a three-horse photo. Factor This, the 9-5 favorite, finished fifth in the field of 10 older runners. Blackberry Wine was scratched, trainer Joe Sharp opting to run the horse one race earlier in the Mineshaft Stakes.
Captivating Moon raced near the back of the field, alongside Set Piece, as Spectacular Gem and Factor This battled on the front end through fractions of :23:35, :48.14 and 1:12.20 for the opening six furlongs.
Pedroza took the outside route and Set Piece went inside as the field rounded the turn and headed into the long Fair Grounds stretch. Captivating Moon began running down the leaders in the final furlong, after a one-mile clocking in 1:37.99, then took command in the closing strides.
“He does like a soft turf,” said Block. “Marcelino did a nice job of keeping him in the clear.”
Block had also entered Captivating Moon in the Colonel Power Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong turf stakes, earlier in the card, but opted for this spot.
The victory was the fifth in 29 career starts for Captivating Moon, who had run on dirt in his eight most recent races. The Fair Grounds Stakes was his first graded stakes victory.
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