GII $400,000 Fair Ground Oaks
Fair Grounds 1 1/16m
Turning the tables on the only filly ever to finish in front of her, Proud Spell raced away from previously undefeated champion Indian Blessing to take the historic GII Fair Grounds Oaks on Saturday. Now at the top of her standout 3-year-old class, Proud Spell’s dominant performance was made all the more impressive by the fact that she ran the 1 1/16 mile race 2/5ths of a second faster than the much heralded Pyro ran his Louisiana Derby the very next race at the same distance. A winner now of 4 of 6 starts, with her only defeats a pair of seconds to Indian Charlie’s great champion, Proud Spell is well on her way to the GI Kentucky Oaks and continues to help establish her sire Proud Citizen as one of the hottest young stallions in the world!
Airdrie would like to wish congratulations and our deepest appreciation to jockey Gabriel Saez and all the team in the barn of top trainer Larry Jones!
GII $600,000 Louisiana Derby
Fair Grounds 1 1/16 m
Billed roundly as the most important Kentucky Derby prep to date, The GII Louisiana Derby was filled with some of the biggest names in the three-year-old ranks with Pyro, Tale of Etakti, Majestic Warrior and J Be K to name just a few. In the end, only Pyro proved too good for Indian Charlie’s improving colt My Pal Charlie and Yankee Gentleman’s ultra-talented Yankee Bravo. Leading from the start, My Pal Charlie ran a monsterous race, leading into midstretch before holding off a slew of talented colts to secure the place, while previously undefeated Yankee Bravo was last early and made a strong move through traffic to complete the trifecta. Tentative plans for Yankee Bravo are now to contest the GI Santa Anita Derby while My Pal Charlie has stamped himself a top contender en route to Churchill Downs.
Congratulations to all the connections of these very exciting Derby prospects!
