Jockey Boyce Marks 500th Winner; La Tia Back to Work
Jockey Forest Boyce hit the first major win mark of her young riding career on Friday afternoon when piloting winner number 500. Riding Columbine Stable’s Waging War for trainer Al Stall, Jr., Boyce withstood a sharp opening quarter five-horse battle in :21.52 en route to a 3 ½ length victory in 1:12.06 under the son of War Front.
Riding her first meet at Fair Grounds Race Course after five years of riding on the Maryland circuit, she has done well at the New Orleans oval. Her 10 wins from 51 starts through Friday’s card have her in eighth place in the standings and her 20% strike rate is second only to meet-leading jockey James Graham (26%).
A multiple graded stakes-winning jockey, Boyce just finished a year in which she finished 81st in earnings nationally – her second best year after finishing 68th in 2013.
LA TIA WORKS TOWARD 6-YEAR-OLD DEBUT
Locally based Grade I-winning turf mare La Tia got back to work this morning when negotiating five furlongs in 1:03.20 for trainer Armando De La Cerda and owner Salvador Hernandez. The daughter of City Place was working for the third time over the local surface since arriving from California following her impressive victory in the Grade I $300,000 Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar. The dark bay 6-year-old also worked five furlongs on Dec. 23 and Dec. 16 for her connections – both in very easy fashion.
While a local start has not been completely disregarded, it looks as though a return trip out west is probable. The firm turf-loving mare will likely point toward the Grade II $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Feb. 16 as a kickoff to what will most likely be her final season of racing.
IRISH YOU WELL BACK ON TRACK
Donegal Racing’s stakes winner and multiple graded-stakes placed Irish You Well continues to progress locally for trainer Wayne Catalano. A winner of the Listed $100,000 Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth last summer, the son of Broken Vow was last seen finishing fourth in the Grade I $1,000,000 Haskell Invitational on July 27. Previous to those efforts, he also was third in a pair of graded stakes – the Grade II $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes and Grade III $500,000 Illinois Derby.
“We’re getting him back on track,” Catalano reported. “We have him on the worktab now and he’s doing good right now. We haven’t mapped out races just yet. Probably after the next breeze we’ll look for something.”
On Dec. 29 the chestnut charge went four furlongs in :52.40. The move was his third since returning to the worktab at Fair Grounds and followed a similar half-mile move on Dec. 18 and a three-furlong work on Dec. 11.
Source: Fair Grounds Barn Notes