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Captivating Moon Springs $89 Surprise In Fair Grounds Stakes

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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Clairiere A Fitting Winner of the Rachel Alexandra

Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra carried the famed burgundy and gold silks of Stonestreet Farm to six victories, four of which were Grade Is, including the GI Preakness S. and GI Woodward S. So, it was only fitting that another filly carrying the colors of Barbara Banke's operation, Clairiere (Curlin), won that Horse of the Year's namesake Grade II race at the Fair Grounds Saturday. The event, which produced GI Kentucky Oaks winners in 2018 and 2019, offered 50 points towards this year's run for the lillies.

Clairiere rallied strongly from well back to capture her 1 1/16-mile debut at Churchill Downs Oct. 25. She made another late run for the lead in that venue's GII Golden Rod S. Nov. 28, but was collared by the re-opposing Travel Column (Frosted) and forced to settled for second.

Dispatched as the 2-1 second choice behind that rival in this sophomore bow, Clairiere stumbled a bit exiting her rail draw and was left at the back of pack as 25-1 shot Off We Go (Air Force Blue) dictated terms several lengths clear of Travel Column through an opening quarter in :23.73. Clairiere snuck up the fence to improve her position to mid-pack through a half in :47.99. Travel Column charged to the front approaching the far turn as Clairiere muscled her way between rivals to stay close to her favored foe. The Stonestreet homebred slipped inside of the chalk at the top of the lane, but Travel Column closed up that opening at the fence, forcing Clairiere's rider Joe Talamo to switch tactics. He swung his mount to Travel Column's outside and the two surged clear of the rest of the field. Clairiere was going the better of the two and forged ahead of Travel Column in the final sixteenth to win by a neck. Moon Swag (Malibu Moon) completed the trifecta.

“I'm extremely excited about who she is,” said winning trainer Steve Asmussen, who also conditioned Rachel Alexandra. “This filly, the third run of her life, is just getting better. Races going further look like they'll be right in her wheelhouse. For her to win the Rachel Alexandra in the Stonestreet silks is extremely special. We'll discuss her next start with the team and she how we're doing. This filly has a very bright future.”

“This is a really nice filly, very professional,” said Talamo. “Steve gave me all the confidence in the world in her. Going in he said to just ride your race. I just kind of pointed her in the right direction and down the lane when I eased her out she was all racehorse. It's fun to ride those kind. The sky is the limit, especially with that just being her third start.”

Pedigree Notes:

Clairiere is the first foal out of Stonestreet's 'TDN Rising Star' Cavorting (Bernardini), a three-time Grade I winner and earner of over $2 million. A daughter of GSW Promenade Girl (Carson City), the now-9-year-old mare has since produced a juvenile filly by Medaglia d'Oro and a yearling colt by Curlin. The half-sister to GSW Moon Colony (Uncle Mo) failed to get in foal to Quality Road last season. The second graded winner of the day out of a daughter of Bernardini, following GIII Mineshaft S. victor Maxfield (Street Sense), she is also his 25th graded winner and 45th black-type scorer as a broodmare sire. Clairiere is the 36th graded winner and 75th black-type victor by Curlin, another Hall of Famer who carried the Stonestreet silks.

Saturday, Fair Grounds
RACHEL ALEXANDRA S. PRESENTED BY FASIG-TIPTON-GII, $300,000, Fair Grounds, 2-13, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:45.34, ft.
1–CLAIRIERE, 122, f, 3, by Curlin
1st Dam: Cavorting (MGISW, $2,063,000), by Bernardini
2nd Dam: Promenade Girl, by Carson City
3rd Dam: Promenade Colony, by Pleasant Colony
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen; J-Joseph Talamo. $183,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $270,492. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Travel Column, 122, f, 3, Frosted–Swingit, by Victory Gallop. ($850,000 Ylg '19 FTSAUG). O-OXO Equine LLC; B-Mr & Mrs Bayne Welker Jr & Denali Stud (KY); T-Brad H Cox. $60,000. 'TDN Rising Star'
3–Moon Swag, 122, f, 3, Malibu Moon–Yara, by Put It Back. ($150,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Brad King, Jim Cone, Scott Bryant and Stan & Suzanne Kirby; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Brendan P Walsh. $30,000.
Margins: NK, 6HF, NK. Odds: 2.30, 1.00, 23.70.
Also Ran: Littlestitious, Becca's Rocket, Souper Sensational, Zoom Up, Off We Go. Scratched: Charlie's Penny.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Maxfield Remains Unbeaten With Facile Triumph In Mineshaft

Godolphin homebred Maxfield registered his fifth career victory without a defeat, easily winning Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Mineshaft Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La.

The 4-year-old Brendan Walsh-trained son of Street Sense, ridden by Florent Geroux, ran 1 1 1/6 miles on a fast track in 1:43.67 and paid $3.20 as the 3-5 betting favorite. Sonneman finished second at 18-1, with 12-1 shot Chess Chief third and 5-1 Blackberry Wine fourth in the field of six older horses. Wells Bayou was scratched.

Dinar was sent by jockey Shaun Bridgmohan to secure the early lead, going the opening quarter mile in :23.97, then opening up a sizable advantage in the run down the backstretch, the half mile in :47.49. Blackberry was a distant second at this point, just ahead of Maxfield, who broke inwardly at the start, and Chess Chief.

Approaching the far turn after six furlongs in 1:13.06, Dinar started to come back to the field, with Blackberry Wine and Maxfield moving as a team to tackle the frontrunner as they rounded the turn. Maxfield quickly took command, and after a mile clocking in 1:37.31 pulled away in the final sixteenth of a mile.

Mineshaft won his first two starts at two in 2019, including the G1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland, before going to the sidelines on the eve of the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita with a chip in an ankle that required surgery. He returned the following May to win the G3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs, but wound up with a condylar fracture, not returning until taking the Tenacious Stakes at Fair Grounds last Dec. 19.

“It's great to get some nice successive runs into him and he's finally turning into the horse we always believed he was,” said Walsh. “He made a nice progression from that last race.”

Walsh was non-committal about Maxfield's next start, saying there are multiple options. “We'll enjoy tonight and we'll have a think about it, then come up with the next spot for him in the next few days.”

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Taking It to the Max: Maxfield Stays Perfect in Style in the Mineshaft

Maxfield (Street Sense) may as well be known as the comeback kid at this point in his career, which has been plagued by injury and misfortune, but he always comes back swinging. Saturday's GIII Mineshaft S. at the Fair Grounds was no exception as the Godolphin homebred scored another good-looking win, taking his perfect record to five-for-five with his second straight win since undergoing surgery for a condylar fracture this summer.

Hammered down to 3-5 favoritism against an overmatched field, Maxfield was antsy in the gate and hopped at the start, settling at the back of the sextet through a :23.97 opening quarter. The bay inched up a bit two wide as 26-1 shot Dinar (Union Rags) ran off on a loose lead, well clear of the field through a :47.49 half-mile. He ranged up alongside Blackberry Wine (Oxbow) on the backstretch run and the pair overtook the tiring Dinar at the top of the lane. Maxfield inhaled Blackberry Wine about a stride later and sailed clear with ease to win for fun. Sonneman (Curlin) rallied to be second.

A debut winner going a mile at Churchill Downs in September 2019, Maxfield romped by 5 1/2 lengths in Keeneland's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. a month later. He was the early favorite heading into that season's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but defected from the World Championships just days before the race with an ankle chip. Returning to action May 23, the homebred rallied to another convincing score in the GIII Matt Winn S. beneath the Twin Spires, but was forced off the GI Kentucky Derby trail a month later after suffering a condylar fracture to his right front leg during a work out. Making yet another comeback in NOLA Dec. 19, Maxfield proved as good as ever, registering a facile victory in the Tenacious S.

Pedigree Notes:

Maxfield's pedigree has Godolphin all over it from top to bottom, sired by Street Sense–a son of the operation's Street Cry (Ire)–and out of fellow Sheikh Mohammed homebred Velvety, a daughter of Street Sense's barnmate Bernardini. He is one of 11 Grade I winners, 35 graded winners and 77 black-type winners by Street Sense. Maxfield is also one of 11 Grade I victors, 24 graded scorers and 44 black-type winners out of a daughter of Bernardini, who has been increasing his prominence as a broodmare sire. Godolphin went to $3.1-million at the 2000 KEENOV sale to acquire Maxfield's second dam, MGSW Caress (Storm Cat), in foal to Coronado's Quest. Caress is responsible for Grade I-winning sire Sky Mesa (Pulpit) and MGSW Golden Velvet (Seeking the Gold), who is the dam of graded winners Lucullan (Hard Spun) and Innovative Idea (Bernardini). Maxfield was only Velvety's second foal and she has since produced the 3-year-old colt Dubai Vision (Medaglia d'Oro) and a juvenile filly by Medaglia d'Oro. Her 2020 colt by Street Sense died and she was bred back to Uncle Mo. This is also the family of graded winners Good Samaritan (Harlan's Holiday), Brave Nation (Pioneerof the Nile), Country Cat (Storm Cat), Della Francesca (Danzig) and Bernstein (Storm Cat).

Saturday, Fair Grounds
MINESHAFT S.-GIII, $200,000, Fair Grounds, 2-13, 4yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:43.67, ft.
1–MAXFIELD, 122, c, 4, by Street Sense
1st Dam: Velvety, by Bernardini
2nd Dam: Caress, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: La Affirmed, by Affirmed
O-Godolphin LLC; B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brendan P Walsh; J-Florent Geroux. $126,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 5-5-0-0, $615,262. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
2–Sonneman, 118, c, 4, Curlin–Zardana (Brz), by Crimson Tide (Ire). ($375,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald & Donna Adam); B-Arnold Zetcher LLC (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen. $40,000.
3–Chess Chief, 118, h, 5, Into Mischief–Un Blessed, by Mineshaft. ($145,000 RNA Ylg '17 FTSAUG). O-Estate of James J Coleman Jr; B-Morgan's Ford Farm (VA); T-Dallas Stewart. $20,000.
Margins: 3 1/4, HF, 1. Odds: 0.60, 18.30, 12.90.
Also Ran: Blackberry Wine, Enforceable, Dinar. Scratched: Wells Bayou. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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