Wireless Future, Chip Leader Meet Again in Woodchopper

A full field of 14, plus one also eligible, has been entered in the $75,000 Woodchopper Stakes on Saturday, Dec. 26, at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. One of the final races of the year restricted to 3-year-olds, the Woodchopper is contested over a mile on the Stall-Wilson turf course and is highlighted by a rematch between talented locally based sophomores Wireless Future and Chip Leader – but the field’s depth only expands form that point.

Louis Roussel, III’s Chip Leader and Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence’s Tom Amoss-trained Wireless Future each exit the same race – a 1 1/16-miles allowance optional claiming event against older horses where the duo finished second and third, respectively, to Chocolate Ride – Fair Grounds’ turf horse of 2015. Earning a 91 and 90, Chip Leader and Wireless Future enter the Woodchopper with the highest last-out Beyer Speed Figures and each boast identical records of 10-3-1-2. The pair will break from posts one and four, respectively, while Richard Eramia and Colby Hernandez each get return calls after riding their charges for the first time last out.

Trainer Mike Maker has entered the duo of Skychai Racing, Sand Dollar Stable and Warner Thoroughbreds’ Firespike (Manny Esquivel, post eight) and Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey’s homebred Granny’s Kitten (Robby Albarado, post nine). Each with ample graded stakes experience, they post an edge over many of their rivals in regards to back-class and should be respected at the windows.

A highly regarded pair of Giant’s Causeway sons in Brittlyn Stable’s Ron Faucheux-trained Tough Customer (Channing Hill, post 12) and Virginia H. Tarra Trust’s Steve Margolis-trained Oak Brook (Shaun Bridghmohan, post three) each garner respect in this spot. Privately purchased prior to his last race, Tough Customer won an optional claiming event over Fair Grounds’ dirt course on Dec. 5 – defeating older horses in the process – and has a pedigree that appears to be grass friendly, being out of an Arch mare. Oak Brook – a full-brother to multiple Grade I winner Giant Oak – makes his first start since a game runner-up effort in the $75,000 P D J F Stakes at Indiana Grand in late May and also makes his initial start for Margolis.

Charlie’s Affair (Kerwin Clark, post two), Lu Rae’s Lucky Sky (Mitchell Murrill, post five), Bullards Alley (Marcelino Pedroza, post six), Flashy Chelsey (Jose Valdivia, Jr., post seven), Belomor (Alexander Reznikov, post 10), Chilango(Jeffrey Sanchez, post 11), Majestic Pride (Francisco Torres, post 13), Chapter Two (Brian Hernandez, Jr., post 14) andSupermason (Jamie Theriot, also eligible) complete the field for the Woodchopper.

The Woodchopper’s sister race, $75,000 Pago Hop Stakes, drew a full field of 14, plus two also-eligibles, including graded stakes-winning course lover Mizz Money (Jesus Castanon, post 13), who is owned by Hillerich Racing and makes her first start for trainer Bobby Barnett. A perfect 3-for-3 over the Stall-Wilson turf course, she was a smart winner of the Grade III $100,000 Pucker Up Stakes at Arlington in August and exits an off-the-board finish in Grade I company.

Another Pucker Up alum with plenty of stakes experience is Devid Menard et al.’s Gary Scherer-trained America Mon Amie(Willie Martinez, post seven), who finished fourth – less than a length astern Mizz Money – at Arlington and exits an off-the-board finish in the Grade III $100,000 Cardinal Handicap at Churchill Downs on Nov. 21, which was her first race in over two months.

Expected to receive respect at the windows is the locally based pair of Cobra Farm and Gary Vandeweghe’s Mike Stidham-trained Fila Primera (Jose Valdivia, Jr., post five) and Elm Racing’s Brad Cox-trained Urtheoneeyelove (Leandro Goncalves, post 12). An easy winner of a first-level allowance on Nov. 28, Fila Primera hails from a top barn and appears to be improving at the right time, while Urtheoneeyelove gets a bit of class relief after competing in graded stakes in four of her last six starts.

Southern Gem (Manny Esquivel, rail), Madamoiselle Bond (Francisco Torres, post two), Run Zippy Run (Miguel Mena, post three), Audrey’s Double (Jerome Lermyte, post four), Shes a True Beauty (Brian Hernandez, Jr., post six),Counterfactual (Patrick Valenzuela, post eight), Moon Medal (Robby Albarado, post nine), Emmajestic (Richard Eramia, post 10), Great Majestic (Kerwin Clark, post 11), Werewolf (Shaun Bridgmohan, post 14), Colour Party (Colby Hernandez, also eligible) and Forest Lake (Hector Santiago, also eligible) complete the field.

Between those two events, four last-out stakes-winning sprint fillies and mares clash in the $60,000 Pan Zareta Stakes over six furlong son the main track. Led by Fox Hill Farms’ $108,000 Zia Distaff winner Thirteen Arrows (Mitchell Murrill, rail), the 9-5 morning-line favorite from the Larry Jones barn, this event drew a quintet of speedy types, including the one-two finishers from the $83,000 Dream Supreme Stakes on Nov. 27 at Churchill downs - Robert Baker and William Mack’s D. Wayne Lukas-trained Super Saks (Robby Albarado, post two) and Scarlet Stable’s Roger Brueggemann-trained House of Sole (Colby Hernandez, post five).

Also in the field is $50,000 Battle of New Orleans Stakes winner Adrianne G (Richard Eramia, post four) from the barn of Bret Calhoun for owner Thomas Galvin and $35,000 Oklahoma Classics Filly and Mare Starter Stakes winner Steel Cut(Miguel Mena, post three) from the barn of owner-trainer Wesley Hawley.

Source: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots