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Travel Column Avenges Loss To Clairiere With Dominating Performance In Fair Grounds Oaks

OXO Equine's Travel Column avenged her loss to Clairiere in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandria with a dominating performance in Saturday's Grade 2, $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks at Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans, La.

Ridden by Florent Geroux, the Brad Cox-trained 3-year-old daughter of Frosted was always prominent, tracking pacesetter Souper Sensation until cruising to the lead at the top of the stretch and drawing off impressively for the victory. She was timed in 1:42.75 for the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track and paid $6.20 as the favorite in the field of seven 3-year-old fillies. Moon Swag scratched.

Clairiere, bottled up early near the back of the field in the early going, was up late to finish second ahead of Souper Sensational, with Obligatory fourth.

The top four finishers earned 100-40-20-10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks, to be run at Churchill Downs on April 30.

The victory was the third in five starts for Travel Column, who broke her maiden at Churchill Downs last Sept. 4 and then finished third in the G1 Alcibiades at Keeneland before winning the G2 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs in her 2-year-old finale, edging Clairiere by a length. She lost the Rachel Alexandra to that rival last out but proved superior in the Fair Grounds Oaks.

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Pegasus Turf Winner Colonel Liam Adds Muniz Memorial Classic To Resume

Colonel Liam, favored at 3-5 after winning the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January, reeled in pacesetter Two Emmys in mid-stretch and went on to a 1 1/2-length victory in Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La.

Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. for Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old Liam's Map colt ran 1 1/8 miles on firm turf in 1:48.33 and paid $3.40 to win. The Muniz was the fifth victory in seven starts for the Robert and Lawana Low runner, who was bred in Kentucky by Phillips Racing Partnership and purchased for $1.2 million as a 2-year-old at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s April sale.

Two Emmys held second, with Logical Myth 3 1/2 lengths back third and Pixelate fourth in the field of 10 older runners. Factor This and Cross Border were scratched.

Ortiz had Colonel Liam in fourth position along the rail in the early going, then gained on Two Emmys while saving ground approaching the far turn. Colonel Liam came off the rail on the turn, engaged with Two Emmys and gradually pulling away under left-handed encouragement from his rider.

Colonel Liam was the 5-2 favorite in the Pegasus Turf, edging Pletcher stablemate Largent by a neck. That was his first graded victory, coming off a win in the listed Tropical Park Derby in late December at Gulfstream.

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Chess Chief Nails Owendale At The Wire In New Orleans Classic

Last early under Luis Saez, Chess Chief kicked into high gear down the stretch, catching 4-5 favorite Owendale at the wire in Saturday's Grade 2, $400,000 New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans, La.

Trained by Dallas Stewart for the estate of James J. Coleman Jr., Chess Chief is a 5-year-old son of leading sire Into Mischief who was winning his first stakes in his 23rd career start. He covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.24 on a fast track and paid $12 to win on a $2 mutuel.

Multiple graded stakes winner Owendale, ridden by Florent Geroux for Brad Cox, finished second, beaten a head. Enforceable was a half-length back in third, with Roadster, a G1 winner for Bob Baffert making his first start since being transferred to Michael Stidham's barn, fourth in the field of seven older runners. Captivating Moon was scratched.

Roadster, with John Velazquez aboard, set the pace with Owendale racing on his right flank most of the way through fractions of :24.11, :48.30 and 1:11.64 for the first six furlongs.

Those two raced as a team into the stretch, with Owendale putting his head in front when they passed the mile marker in 1:36.08. Chess Chief, last early, swung widest of all into the stretch but still had work to do with a furlong to run. Saez kept to his task, however, and Chess Chief was up in time for the win – his fourth in 23 career starts.

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Fonner Files: How The Orphan Kist And Tondi Stakes Got Their Names

Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak shares slices of life from the Grand Island, Neb., racetrack throughout the 2021 meet in the Fonner Files.

This Saturday, we have a pair of stakes races due to the cancellation of the final two races last Saturday.

The first is the Orphan Kist named after a beast of a Nebraska-bred. In the late 1980s and early '90s, she won 28 of 100 races and finished second another 28 times, with 16 thirds.

The striking dark bay with a blaze earned over $630,000 with a remarkable 17 wins at Ak-Sar-Ben. She won four times at Fon and also won at: Arlington Park, Arapahoe Park, Canterbury Park, Louisiana Downs and Remington Park. The homebred of Jane and Michael Moreland was trained by Linda Davidson and she was typically ridden by Tim Brown or Bobby Cordova.

The Tondi is the other Saturday stakes named after a mighty Thoroughbred. Tondi won 25 of 79 races and earned just over $100,000 in the late '50s. He once held three track records at Fonner Park and was a multiple stakes winner at Fon, Ak-Sar-Ben, Centennial Park, throughout the New Mexico circuit and in Chicago.

Speaking of Saturday, seven of our ten races drew full fields. On the brink of Spring, we're finally getting our legs underneath us. Plus, the daffodils have begun to punch up.

Tondi was a multiple stakes winner at Fonner Park during the 1960s.

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