Wind Chill Factor Stays Hot at Fair Grounds

Wind Chill Factor and Cook Some Rice both ran to their morning line favoritism on Wednesday afternoon and outclassed their rivals in their respective divisions of the $100,000 Louisiana Futurity.  Gary Scherer and Al & Bill Ulwelling’s Wind Chill Factor won under regular pilot Willie Martinez by three-quarters of a length, while Scott and Company’s Cook Some Rice – who wound up going off as the second choice at 2-1 – won by the same margin under Gerard Melancon.

Wind Chill Factor won for the fourth time of her young 5-race career after breaking well and stalking the pacesetters and then holding Set-Hut’s stakes-winning Forest Lake to second.  Coming from the five-hole, the daughter of Successful Appeal was close to solid fractions of :22.08 and :46.29  before taking over and winning in a time of 1:12.03 for the six furlongs.  Sent off as 1-2 favorite, the dark bay filly returned $3, $2.20 and $2.10, earning $54,450 to boost her career bankroll to $225,650.  The win was her third consecutive stakes in six weeks – all with Martinez in the irons.

“Thank god for the opportunity and thank you to the Wind Chill Factor connections.  Gary Scherer has done a great job,” Martinez said.  “The plan was to ride her like she was the best horse – and she was.  When she got a little dirt on her face, she hesitated a little bit.  I knew she would overcome that, so I got her in the clear and made my run from there.  With her, when she pins her ears, she’s letting you know it’s time to go.  So, I waited as long as I could at the top of the lane.”

“I was a little scared that the horse was catching her at the end, but she ran her race,” Scherer said.  “She might have got a little tired, but she gets a little break here before the next one.  She’ll most likely run at Delta for her next two.  There’s the ($100,000) Azalea (Stakes on Mar. 6) after the ($125,000 Louisiana Premier Night Starlet) on February 7th.”

Forest Lake, at 28-1, rallied to finish second under Hector Santiago for trainer Jerry Delhomme, paying $10.20 and $5.80.  Southern Legacy Thoroughbreds’ Private Promise made a belated bid to finish third under James Graham for conditioner James ‘Sweet’ Hodges, paying $5.80 to show.

Jackie Ems Pal, Vivian Da Bling, Starrific Is Ours and Irish Salute completed the order of finish.

In the colt and gelding division, Cook Some Rice made a late run to forge to victory for trainer Sam Breaux.  After breaking slowly from the three-hole, the son of Half Ours made a prolonged drive under a confident Gerard Melancon to defeat 4-5 favorite Just Kissing Buck in the final sixteenth.  After swift fractions of :21.85 and :45.50, pacesetters Union Builder and My Friend Flavin folded when challenged by the aforementioned top two, who in turn went on to finish the race in 1:11.56.  Cook Some Rice won for the second time in six starts and returned $6.80, $2.80 and $2.40 while earning $53,430 to boost his career bankroll to $114,840.  The victory came one race after a game second in the $150,000 Louisiana Legacy at Delta Downs on Nov. 22.

“I felt great on the turn,” Melancon said.  “He got away a little slow, but from day one he’s been a little trouble in the gate.  Once you get him in there, you just have to let him be.  I had him in the right spot today.  This colt can be his own enemy.  If he ever puts it all together, he has a lot of ability.”

“I was really glad to win – I knew we had to beat (Just Kissing Buck),” Breaux said.  “He did his job today.  He’s not as speedy as those other horses.  I ran him at a mile last time at Delta and he came from the off the pace and came up to the lead and finished second, coming up a little short – but he might have needed another work.  We are probably going to stretch him out again in the Louisiana-bred stakes they have over the season between Delta and here.”

Suzette Necaise’s Just Kissing Buck, under Colby Hernandez for trainer Earl Bankston, paid $2.20 and $2.10.  Valene Farm’s Slowpoke Sam closed from last under Willie Martinez to be third and returned $3.60 to show.

“The trip was good,” Hernandez said.  “Everything went great, I just got beat by a better horse.”

Wild Tchoupitoulas, My Friend Flavin and Union Builder completed order of finish. 

Source: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots