Silver Dust Repeats in Fair Grounds' Mineshaft
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Photo: Hodges Photography / Amanda Hodges Weir
Silver Dust wins the Mineshaft Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course
Tom Durant's Silver Dust continued his dominance at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Feb. 15 with a repeat victory in the $200,000 Mineshaft Stakes (G3). He won his season debut last month in the Louisiana Stakes (G3) over the same course and distance of 1 1/16 miles.
Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. guided the 6-year-old Tapit gelding trained by Bret Calhoun to the winner's circle Saturday. Regular rider Jack Gilligan was sidelined with a broken collarbone and other injuries from a Jan. 24 spill.
"This horse is just getting better and better. You just have to trust him. He is a little bit of a quirky horse from what I've seen. Jack has done a great job riding him, and I was fortunate enough to fill in," Hernandez said. "I learned from watching replays to stay out of his way and give him the most comfortable trip I can. That's what we did today. He ran nice, and when we turned for home he picked it up.
"Jack and I had dinner last night and talked about him, and I just got as much information on him as I could. I told him we were going to take care of him, and hopefully this horse keeps improving, and that's what it looks like he is doing."
Silver Dust, the 9-5 favorite, was fourth early and three wide in the nine-horse field. Pirate's Punch took the lead and set fractions of :24.41, :47.25, and 1:11.42 through three-quarters of a mile. Silver Dust looked full of run in the second turn, and Hernandez was moving closer to the leader. The reigning victor was able to pull a length clear in the stretch before Gun It, who was third in the Louisiana Stakes, began to close in on the drifting Silver Dust, who crossed the wire three-quarters of a length in front. The final time was 1:43.40 on a fast track.
"We wish he was this good as a 3-year-old! But in all seriousness, this is my first 6-year-old to race. I have raced a lot of horses, and I've never raced one this age," Durant said. "He seems to just be getting better and better as we go, and I'm hoping he can continue to impress us."
Gun It stayed on for second at 30-1. Pirate's Punch and Captivating Moon finished third and fourth, respectively.
Silver Dust, the first foal out of the stakes-winning Hard Spun mare Filare l'Oro, was bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corporation. He was first purchased for $270,000 by de Meric Stables from Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for Don Alberto, at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Durant went to $510,000 to secure the gray or roan from de Meric at the 2016 Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The Mineshaft pushed Silver Dust's earnings to $822,277 from a 7-7-2 record in 26 starts.
Video: Mineshaft S. (G3)
Turf Upsets Kick Off Stakes Races
In the first stakes of the day at Fair Grounds, Griffon Farms and Michelle Lovell's homebred Just Might set the pace in the $100,000 Colonel Power Stakes and held off 2-1 favorite Chaos Theory to upset the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint at 20-1. After setting fractions of :22.01 and :44.71 under Colby Hernandez, Just Might held on by a neck for a final time of 1:02.15 on firm going.
Just Might holds off Chaos Theory to take the Colonel Power Stakes at Fair Grounds
Also trained by Lovell, the 4-year-old Justin Phillip gelding was bred in Kentucky out of the Dynameaux mare Dynamite Babe. The Colonel Power was his first stakes win and improved his record to 3-4-4 from 14 starts with earnings of $172,007.
Chaos Theory was second, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Fast Boat in third. Blind Ambition was fourth.
Robert and Lawana Low's She'sonthewarpath produced another upset on the turf, pulling clear to take the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes at 16-1. Ridden by Chantal Sutherland, She'sonthewarpath was sixth early as Quebec set fractions of :23.32, :47.62, 1:11.32, and 1:36.01 through a mile. The 4-year-old Declaration of War filly moved out and rallied from the three-sixteenths pole to finish two lengths in front. The final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:42.25.
Bred in Kentucky by the Lows, She'sonthewarpath is out of the stakes-winning Distorted Humor mare Ha Ha Tonka. Steve Margolis has trained her to a 4-1-2 record from 10 starts, which includes a victory in the TaWee Stakes last summer. Her earnings total $228,705.
Last year's Al Stall Memorial winner, Mitchell Road, was second ahead of Quick Witted and Notapradaprice.
Video: Colonel Power S. (BT)