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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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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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Heavily Favored Mischevious Alex Captures Gulfstream Park Sprint

Cash is King LLC and LC Racing LLC's Mischevious Alex asserted his class to score a comfortable 3 ½-length victory in Saturday's $100,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The Gulfstream Park Sprint, a six-furlong dash for 4-year-olds and up, and the $100,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3), a five-furlong race for older horses on turf, co-headlined a 12-race program that also featured a mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool.

Mischevious Alex, who was sent to post as the 2-5 favorite in a field reduced to four by scratches, recorded his second straight victory of the 2020-2021 Championship Meet with the April 3 Carter (G1) at Aqueduct or the Golden Shaheen (G1) on the March 28 Dubai World Cup undercard being targeted for his next start.

“The Carter is the primary goal. The Dubai sprint is in our minds, but we're going to talk it over and decide,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “[Cash is King LLC's] Chuck [Zacney] has a game plan to try to win a Grade 1 this year.”

Mischievous Alex, who won a Jan. 10 optional claiming allowance impressively while making his first start for Joseph off a five-month layoff, broke alertly to contest the early pace outside pacesetter Cajun Brother and inside Frosted Grace along the backstretch. Cajun Brother ran the first quarter of a mile in 22.45 with Mischevious Alex traveling comfortably to his outside under Irad Ortiz Jr. The odds-on favorite moved to a narrow lead on the turn into the homestretch with Frosted Grace looming boldly to his outside. Asked for some run at the top of the stretch, the 4-year-old son of Into Mischief offered a powerful kick to win with authority.

“It worked out well. He got the job done,” Joseph said. “He broke well and I was happy how he broke. For a brief moment, where he was in a little tight, Irad did a great job of maintaining his spot. After that, he stayed six furlongs strongly. At six furlongs, you don't have to worry about him stopping. He keeps getting stronger towards the end.”

Mischievous Alex, who captured the 2020 Swale (G3) at Gulfstream, ran six furlongs in 1:09.55.

“I got a good trip. The horse put me in a good position early. I think [Cajun Brother] had the speed from the break so I just let him go ahead. I sat there and was patient and when it was time to let him go, I just let him go and he responded really well,” Ortiz said. “He's doing great.”

Frosted Grace finished second under Luis Saez, a half-length ahead of Cajun Brother and jockey Miguel Vasquez.

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Al Quoz In Dubai Could Be Next For Leinster Following Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint Victory

Rusty Arnold-trained Leinster came through in the stretch for the bettors who made him their 2-5 favorite, adding the $100,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3) to his growing list of graded-stakes victories.

The Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint, a five-furlong dash for older horses, and the $100,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3), a six-furlong race for 4-year-olds and up, co-headlined a 12-race program that also featured a mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool.

Leinster broke alertly from the starting gate to contest the early pace between horses before being eased back by jockey Luis Saez, who was content to track pacesetter High Crime and Inter Miami during a :21.03 first quarter of a mile. Saez eased Leinster to the outside on the turn into the homestretch and the veteran turf sprinter responded with a powerful stretch drive to catch High Crime by a neck.

“That was the trip that we expected. I know we had some speed inside, but he's that kind of horse that you can't rush him early. You have to let him get his feet,” Saez said. “When he came to the stretch, he knows what to do. He was always responding and it was easy for him. When we came to the stretch, I knew we were going to be OK. I know [High Crime] was a pretty tough horse, but Leinster he came from the layoff, too, so we didn't want to push him early. He did his job.”

Making his first start since finishing third in the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Keeneland, Leinster ran five furlongs on a 'good' turf course in :55.29.

“I liked the way he did it. They were going head and head; they were going so fast, [Saez] took him back and gave him a breather,” said Arnold, who trains Leinster for Amy Dunne, Brenda Miley and Westrock Stables LLC. “It looked for a second he might not get there, but he that gear.”

High Crime, the 3-1 second choice ridden by Julien Leparoux, held second 1 ½ lengths head of Harrysontheloose and jockey Junior Alvarado.

Leinster won back-to-back Grade 2 stakes, the Shakertown and the Woodford, over a fast Keeneland course before finishing just a length behind victorious Glass Slippers over a 'good' Keeneland turf in the Breeders' Cup.

“Since he started running sprints on the grass, he's missed the board once, and that was in the [2019] Breeders' Cup [Turf Sprint]. He didn't get a trip and maybe he was over the top,” Arnold said.

Arnold said that the 6-year-old son of Majestic Warrior would likely run next in the $1 million Al Quoz (G1) on the March 28 Dubai World Cup undercard or the April 3 Shakertown (G2) at Keeneland.

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