mardi gras stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

There were no fans in the stands, the temperatures were frigid, and beads were scarce, but as always, the traditional Fat Tuesday card at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots was highlighted by the 78th running of the Mardi Gras Stakes, and M Bar O's Elle Z turned it into a one-horse show.

With an abundance of rain in the days leading up and record-low temperatures on Tuesday, there was little doubt the Mardi Gras would be taken off the grass. Run over 5 ½ furlongs of fast track, only four of the 10 programmed runners stayed in, and the race was over almost as soon as it started.

With Mitchell Murrill aboard for trainer Chris Hartman, who was stranded in Hot Springs, Arkansas due to the wintery conditions there, the 4-year-old daughter of City Zip wasted no time going to the lead. She led while in the clear through fractions of 23.07 and 45.95 before stopping the timer in 1:03.81, winning by an increasing 4 lengths as the 2.30-1 second choice. Compromised slightly by an awkward start from the rail, .70-1 favorite Into Mystic rallied late for second over She's My Gem in third. Misty Day completed the order of finish.

“Yeah man, she's just one dimension,” Murrill said. “She goes out there and gives it 110% every time. Being a little match race as it was, I was a little iffy as to what (favored) Into Mystic was going to do. As it turned out, it worked in my favor getting out on the lead and stretching them out a little bit and she came through for us. Working her in the mornings you couldn't tell she was a turf horse at all. She definitely has a style that suits both surfaces.”

The 13-1 upset winner of the Pan Zareta while sprinting on turf earlier in the meet, Elle Z would return to finish second behind Into Mystic under similar circumstances in the Nelson J. Menard last time out. They've made up the exacta three times at the meet, with Elle Z now holding a 2-1 advantage over Into Mystic.

Elle Z broke her maiden at first asking in the slop at Will Rogers Downs in May, but she faded to fourth at Churchill in her only previous try on a fast track. With the win, Elle Z enhanced her career record to 9-5-1-0 with earnings of $195,524.

“Mardi Gras is a little different this year,” Murrill said. “Hopefully next year we can have all the people out here and celebrate the way you're supposed to.”

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If trainer Chris Hartman had his way, the $75,000 Mardi Gras would be run over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course. But if you've been in New Orleans the past week, you know Mother Nature hasn't been too cooperative with afternoon plans at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Regardless, Hartman's Elle Z figures to be in front from the opening bell in the $75,000 Mardi Gras, which is scheduled for 5 ½ furlongs on the turf, and is once again the centerpiece on the Fat Tuesday nine-race card.

M Bar O's Elle Z (post 2 at 7-2 on Mike Diliberto's morning line with Mitchell Murrill) has been a blur early in a pair of turf stakes at the meet, wiring the Pan Zareta in December and leading early before finishing second to fellow rival Into Mystic in the January 9 Nelson J. Menard Memorial. The 4-year-old daughter of City Zip has run just twice on the main track, but one of those was a win in her debut in the slop at Will Rogers Downs in May of 2020. Elle Z is 4-for-8 lifetime and Hartman knows, whether it's turf or dirt, he won't have to look too hard to find Elle Z.

“She's going to be on the lead regardless,” Hartman said. “Either way (turf or dirt), unless something crazy happens, she's the fastest one in there. I'd prefer turf but it is what it is.”

George Chris Coleman and Brad King's Into Mystic (post 1 at 9-5 with Adam Beschizza) turned the tables on Elle Z in the Menard after running second to her in the Pan Zareta. The 5-year-old daughter of Into Mischief has been one of the better filly and mare turf sprinters in the country over the past year for trainer Brandan Walsh, though she too has proven main track form. Into Mystic is 4-for-10 on the dirt, and would likely still be favored should she start if the Mardi Gras is moved off the turf.

Two Delta Downs invaders with proven main track stakes form could be potential upsetters, as Dale F. Taylor Racing's She's My Gem (post 7 at 15-1 with James Graham) won the Orleans January 5 for trainer Todd Fincher, while Misty Day (post 10 at 20-1 with Dean Saenz) was 3 lengths behind in second for trainer Victor Arceneaux. The former, a 5 -year-old daughter of Into Mischief who has never tried the turf, is 9-4-4-0 in her career, while the latter, a 4-year-old daughter of Race Day, is 4-for-8 and won an optional-claimer at Delta on the dirt two-back by 5 ¼ lengths.

Lothenbach Stables' Winning Envelope (post 5 at 10-1 with Marcelino Pedroza) was third in the Pan Zareta and fourth in the Menard for trainer Chris Block but the 5-year-old daughter of More Than Ready is just 0-for-1 on the main track, while Change of Control (post 6 at 12-1 with Colby Hernandez) was third in the Menard for trainer Michelle Lovell but is just 1-for-8 on the main track.

With the Mardi Gras potentially coming off the turf, trainer Al Stall Jr. indicated Bal Mar Equine's In Good Spirits (post 9 at 8-1 with Miguel Mena) would scratch, while Dalika (Ger) (post 3 at 6-1 with Gerard Melancon) won Saturday's Albert M. Stall Memorial for the same connections. Lothenbach Stables' homebred Ready for Change (post 4 at 10-1 with Florent Geroux) is going to scratch to run in an optional-claimer here February 20 according to trainer Neil Pessin. CJ Thoroughbreds' stable manage C. J. Johnsen indicated that the Mark Casse-trained Jeanie B (GB) (post 8 at 8-1 with Brian Hernandez Jr.) will also scratch if the race comes off the grass.

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