Fair Grounds news: Mo Tom looks to rebound on turf

When Fair Grounds Racing Secretary Scott Jones wrote the conditions for Friday’s seventh race, a one mile allowance optional claiming event over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course, he did so with the intent of attracting some stakes caliber horses, and that’s exactly what he got.  

Such stakes caliber horses in this allowance field include the likes of GMB Racing’s Mo Tom, who will look for his first win since the Ohio Derby on June 25, 2016. Trained by Tom Amoss, the son of Uncle Mo will be trying the turf for the first time when he looks to end a nine-race slump.

“If it’s not a straight conditioned allowance race at the Fair Grounds, whether or not it is on dirt or grass, you know it’s going to be written for just about every horse on the grounds,” Amoss said. “So it’s no surprise to see a tough field for Friday’s race and we were willing to go to the deep end of the pool.”

Mo Tom has been a rewarding horse for Amoss in the past. As a 3-year-old, he competed in all three of the Fair Grounds’ qualifying races on the Road To The Kentucky Derby including a victory in the Grade 3 Lecomte. Mo Tom qualified for the Run for The Roses that year, where he ended up finishing eighth behind Nyquist.

“We’re trying to invent something with him that will bring back the Mo Tom we saw in the past and sometimes a change of surface does that,” Amoss said. “Uncle Mo progeny have shown that they can run on grass and so this is an experiment.”

Mo Tom break from post seven at 9-2 odds and will be guided by Joe Bravo.

Live Oak Planation’s Florida Won, who breaks from post eight under Brian Hernandez, Jr., will be making his first start since May 2016, where he was fourth in Woodbine’s Grade 2 Eclipse. The Mark Casse-trainee last tasted victory nearly two-and-a-half years ago in the Presque Isle Downs Mile at its namesake track.

“He had been a while, he came down from Live Oak, and obviously it had been an awful long time,” Casse’s assistant trainer David Carroll said. “Basically, he’s ready to run.  There’s no easy spot for him but we just want to get a race in him and see where he stands after the race but we got to start somewhere. We want to give him an opportunity with no pressure on the horse to just go out and run and we’ll take it from there. It’s a tough race for sure.”

One other stakes victor in this salty bunch is Applicator, who last won the Tourist Mile at Kentucky Downs in September and is trained by Mikhail Yanakov.

“He feels very good,” Yanakov said. “He can get any distance as long as he likes the track. He’s won at a mile-and-a-half wire-to-wire (in Gulfstream Park’s Gleaming Stakes in May 2016), but one mile is his best distance.”

Jockey Adam Beschizza will pilot the 5-year-old gelding who breaks from the six-hole at 6-1 odds.

TEAM CASSE EXCITED ABOUT PROMISING ALLOWANCE WINNER PRETTY LADY

Trainer Mark Casse’s assistant David Carroll expressed excitement following a New Year’s Day allowance victory with Breeze Easy LLC’s Pretty Lady who won by 1 ¼ lengths when facing winners for the first time.

“This is hopefully a very progressing filly,” Carroll said. “For her to break her maiden and then beat winners next time out is says a lot. She’s not a very big filly but she’s very athletic, she has a big heart and she has an engine. Jose (Valdivia, Jr.) gave her an excellent ride and it’s a great way to start the New Year off. We’ll see where she takes her from here. She puts a lot into her training, obviously has plenty of talent and hopefully the best is yet to come.”

Prior to breaking her maiden over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course on Nov. 25, Casse ran her in the Grade 1 Natalma at Woodbine.

“Mark will do that a lot of the time with horses that he thinks has potential,” Carroll said. “Sometimes those races are similar to an a other than and then if you want to get some black type that’s what you do.”

A next start has yet to be picked out for Pretty Lady. 

“Right now there aren’t a whole lot of options for three-year-old fillies on the grass,” Carroll said. “We’ll let Mark talk with the connections and see what they want to do. She may be one that you want to give her a break and get her ready for the three-year-old races later on.”

RAPID RHYTHM TO MAKE FINAL CAREER START IN SATURDAY’S PAN ZARETA; WILL BREED TO TONALIST

When Robert S. Evans’ Rapid Rhythm ends her racing career in Saturday’s $50,000 Pan Zareta, she will be doing something that she loves the most: race on the Fair Grounds’ Stall-Wilson Turf Course going 5½ furlongs, which is why she will make her final bow in that race. 

Trained by Michael Stidham, the Virginia-bred daughter of Successful Appeal is a spotless 6-for-6 when competing over the Fair Grounds lawn. All six of her Fair Grounds wins came at the Pan Zareta distance of 5 ½ furlongs, which she boasts an overall record of eight wins in 14 starts. Last out, she won the first division of the Fair Grounds’ Richie Scherer Memorial Stakes, where she defeated five of her upcoming rivals in Saturday’s race: Contributing, Miss Gossip (Ire), Luvin Bullies, Nite Delite and Nobody’s Fault. 

Following the Pan Zareta, she is scheduled to be bred to 2014 Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist who also was owned by Robert S. Evans and currently stands at Lanes’ End Farm for a $20,000 stud fee.

“She started settling into a good rhythm with us, a rapid rhythm,” Stidham joked. “We hope it continues. This will be her last race before she becomes a broodmare.”

Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan will pilot Rapid Rhythm during her swan song, where she will break from post four as the 7-2 morning line favorite.

Stidham will also be represented in the Pan Zareta by One Last Shot, who breaks just to the outside of her stable mate from post five under Joe Bravo at 10-1 odds.

Owned by Speedway Stable LLC, the 5-year-old daughter of Any Given Saturday was sent to Stidham after being transferred from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in southern California. Since being placed under the care of her current conditioner, she has made two trips to the winner’s circle, which took place in an allowance win over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course last March and another allowance win at Delaware Park in July. Her last start was a runner-up effort behind Chanteline in the second division of the Richie Scherer Memorial Stakes.

“She ran a big race in the other division (of the Richie Scherer Memorial),” Stidham said. “In terms of numbers and times, her division was faster. She was sent to us when she wasn’t quite cutting things out in California and she’s improved as she got older. If she repeats her last race, she has a big shot.”

Source: Fair Grounds news release