Millionaire Touchuponastar Matches Star Guitar with Third Classic
Recaps of seven Louisiana Champions Day stakes
New Orleans, La (Dec. 14, 2024) – With $750,000 in stakes purses on the line for the 34th Louisiana Champions Day at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, statebred added money action kicked off in race 3 with the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic. Set-Hut’s Touchuponastar made easy work of his four foes to win his third consecutive Classic and become horse racing’s newest millionaire.
The 5-year-old trained by Jeff Delhomme marked his name in the history books next to his Sire, Star Guitar, the only other Thoroughbred who has been able to rack up three scores in this event (2009 – 2011).
“We’re blessed to have him,” owner Jake Delhomme said. “When you get lucky and get one like this, you appreciate them everyday. In the barn we are in, the horse right next to him is Free Like a Girl, so you have a million-dollar horse and a $2 million-dollar horse, both bred in Louisiana. Mine was purchased for $15,000; Free Like a Girl for $5,500. This is the greatest game in the world. Louisiana has the best program in the United States. You get breeders rewards for first, second, and third place. I’m a huge fan of the Louisiana program.”
Touchuponastar set the pace, traveled easily, and turned back a mild bid by a pair in the far turn before powering away to win by 5 1/4 lengths. Piloted by Tim Thornton, the 13-time winner covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.93.
“It’s pure joy riding him,” Thornton said. “ Such a class horse. Jake and the Delhommes have done such a great job with him. I’m blessed to be a part of it. (Touchuponastar) fumbled a bit leaving the gates, but he got back on speed and did his job like he always does.”
In 19 career starts, Touchuponastar’s record now reads 13-4-2; he has earned $1,022,900.
Stonestreet Stables and Peter Leidel’s Blue Fire went eyeball-to-eyeball with Secret Faith and proved best in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Lassie, a 6-furlong sprint. Trained by Steve Asmussen and piloted by Jose Ortiz, the Aurelius Maximus filly strung together her second consecutive win, while the win streak stopped at five for the Ferguson Memorial winner Secret Faith.
“On (Blue Fire’s) debut, she was very game,” Ortiz said. “Today when I saw Secret Faith coming, I let my filly drift out and look her in the eye. She kept fighting and finding more and more.”
Exiting an open company allowance score at Churchill Downs, Valene Farms’ Smoken Wicked earned his first added money title to his resume, taking the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile and recording trainer Dallas Stewart’s 1,000th career win.
“It’s a special win for special people,” Stewart said. “I’m very fortunate to train for great people. I want to thank everyone who I ever trained any horse for, that they gave me a chance. That’s what it’s all about.”
Ridden by Colby Hernandez, Smoken Wicked tracked outside the leaders and powered away down the stretch, covering the 6 panels in 1:10.43 and winning by 2 over the Peluso Memorial winner Hay Jude.
“We didn’t train him very hard for this race because we want to come back for the (Louisiana) Futurity,” Stewart said. “We thought we could pick this one up and then hopefully get serious a little later. Maybe the Pat Day Mile; the horse is very talented.”
Woods N Water survived a photo finish in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Turf over Behemah Star, last year’s victor. A new addition to trainer Sam Breaux’s barn, the 5-year-old’s second career stakes title saw him covering the 1 1/16 miles in 1:47.82 under jockey Tim Thornton. Thornton piloted three winners on the day.
“I just made sure to tuck in and save all the ground I could,” Thornton said. “I know I had a lot of horse so I wheeled him out, but for a second I thought I had moved too soon. But I was able to hang on. He dug in and tried hard.”
Breaux now sits at 1,999 career wins.
“I just got him about a month ago,” Breaux said. “He ran a real big race for me. We figured there was lots of speed in the race and we wanted him in the second flight. Everything worked out good for us.”
After tracking outside the leaders, World War IV Racing and Rebel Tide Racing’s Six String laid her heart on the line to run them both down and win the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint by a head over Luyv. Trained by Allen Landry and piloted by Ben Curtis, the 3-year-old Star Guitar filly now boasts seven wins in 11 races.
The 4-5 favorite Free Like a GIrl rallied for fourth.
“(Six String) puts her head down, she tries hard, and she has got an engine to go with it,” Curtis said. “That’s a good thing to have in a racehorse. I had the outside gate but I broke away quickly. The pace was strong enough in front so I was happy enough to sit off it and set sail at the top of the stretch. Luckily enough she was game for me and held out all the way to the line.”
“First of all I want to thank World War IV Racing and Rebel Tide for letting me train this filly,” Landry said. “They’ve been great to me. This filly’s heart is as big as her body. She’s not real big but she has got some guts. She’s good on the grass, too.”
Earl Hernandez, Keith Hernandez, and John Duvieilh’s homebred Highly Wicked continued her perfection on the grass, gamely running down the loose leader Tommie G to win by a nose in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Turf. Now five-for-five on the turf and penning an added money event to her resume, the 4-year-old trained by Sam David Jr. earned her first win at 1 1/16 miles, stopping the clock in 1:49.92 under Marcelino Pedroza Jr.
“We were thinking about going to the lead, but the 9 was quick out of the gates,” Pedroza Jr. said. “I had to go to plan B. She settled in nicely and when I asked, she responded.”
“They’re the greatest,” Keith Hernandez said. “Winning on Championship Day means so much, especially to have all my family here. It took awhile for us to realize (Highly Wicked) only wants turf. She ran well on the dirt last time but she’s a dirt horse.”
“We’re really impressed with her races lately,” David Jr. said. “She used to be one-dimensional but now she’s started to rate, and it’s really going to help her in the long run, like it did today. You can’t ask for a filly to try any harder than she does every time she comes over. We’re really proud of her.”
“(Earl Hernandez, Keith Hernandez, and John Duvieilh) have been putting in their time breeding horses and bringing them up to race,” David Jr. said. “It’s something special. They don’t sell any, they bring them all to the races. It’s really a special group of people that go through the ups and downs of all that. I’m really happy to be training for them and I’m glad they found me a couple years ago and made me jump in there with them.”
In Saturday’s finale, the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint, Single Malt Stable’s Geaux Sugar pushed repeat on his opening weekend Andrew Ney Memorial win, shooting clear from the field, getting loose on the lead, and powering home to stop the clock in 1:09.81, never menaced for six furlongs.
Mitchell Murrill was back aboard Geaux Sugar for trainer Keith Bourgeois.
Jack Hammer rallied late for second.
Live racing continues at Fair Grounds on Sunday, as well as an added day of action on Monday, Dec. 16. Next Saturday, Dec. 21 is “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day,” which includes eight stakes headlined by the $100,000 Gun Runner and $100,000 Untapable, the final Kentucky Derby and Oaks prep races of the calendar year.
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About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, La, Fair Grounds, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 15 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 153rd Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 112th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 22, 2024 through March 23, 2025. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.
