Compelled upsets Finely’sluckycharm in Mardi Gras Stakes

For a season debut, first start on turf and the ask of a 5 1/2-furlong sprint off the layoff, Finley’sluckycharm performed well in Tuesday’s $75,000 Mardi Gras Stakes at Fair Grounds.

But she was nipped at the wire by the late-running Compelled, a 6-1 shot who made a well-timed runner under jockey Lanerie to win the featured race in New Orleans by a length.

“You’re disappointed when you don’t win but we got what we needed,” said Finley'sluckycharm trainer Bret Calhoun. “I don’t think the surface was her favorite. (Jockey) Brian (Hernandez, Jr.) said that she just didn’t have the normal gears that she has. Turning for home he thought he would go by pretty easy. He said that she didn’t have a quick turn of foot or normal gears like she normally has. At the end of the day we would have loved to have won but we got what we needed.”

Calhoun went on to say that the 5-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy would likely point to the Grade 1, $300,000 Madison Stakes at Keeneland on April 7.

Laniere knew little coming into the race about Compelled -- only "her name after I read the program" -- and hoped a filly who normally runs route races could get some pace at which to charge. Thanks to fractions of 22.09 sections for the quarter mile and 46.27 for the half, she did.

"She's coming off the layoff, and horses coming off the layoff show a little more speed than normally when they're running in route races," Lanerie said of the Tom Proctor trainee. "I thought it would set up good. I was hoping for some pace up front...and see if I could pick up the pieces. I was able to get the whole thing."

Finley’sluckycharm entered off a ninth-place effort in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. But before that,  she won seven of nine starts, with her only two defeats also runner-up efforts. Victories included the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America at Keeneland that qualified her for the year-end championships at Del Mar.

As with the eventual winner, Finley'sluckycharm sat patiently off the front-runners. All but Triple Chelsea, the third-place Mardi Gras finisher, faded to off-the-board finishes.

As they backed up, 9-5 favorite Finley’sluckysharm moved up in the stretch. It's just that Compelled did so faster on the far outside.

The final time was 1:04.32, and Compelled paid $15.40. A daughter of War Front, she has never finished off the board in eight starts, with Tuesday's score her second in stakes company for owner Glen Hill Farm.