Cilla, Ova Charged Matchup Tops Louisiana Champions Day

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Cilla, Ova Charged Matchup Tops Louisiana Champions Day
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Photo: Skip Dickstein/Tim Lanahan
Cilla (inside) wins the Prioress Stakes at Saratoga Race Course

On Louisiana Champions Day, a card at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots dedicated to state-breds, two 3-year-old fillies who succeeded outside their home state this year are afternoon headliners.

Though the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint Stakes is not the richest race on the 13-race program, trailing the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic, the Ladies Sprint offers the most compelling match-up. Topping the race is the lightly raced Ova Charged , representing owner/breeder Brittlyn Stable and trainer Jose Camejo, and the relatively seasoned graded stakes winner, Cilla , owned by P. Dale Ladner, and bred by Ladner and Brett Brinkman, her trainer.

The seventh race on a card with 10 stakes worth $1.05 million, the Ladies Sprint goes off right before the Classic with a post time of 2:56 p.m. CT.

Ova Charged, a daughter of Louisiana legend Star Guitar  , who won 24 of his 30 races, has the potential to be one of the very best her stallion has ever produced. That title is currently held by Minit to Stardom , who banked $536,180 for the same connections, winning the Ladies Sprint in 2019 along the way. 

"She is gonna be the one," Camejo said. "Everybody saw how she ran last time. We have had high hopes for her from day one. She's been doing good. And hopefully in this race she can improve and show who she is. We're ready for her."

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'Last time' was an allowance optional claiming race Nov. 28 at Fair Grounds that she won by 10 1/2 lengths, running six furlongs in 1:09.51. That race followed a runner-up finish in the Victory Ride Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park, and before that, wins at Monmouth Park and Delta Downs in open company.

The 3-for-4 filly is the 7-5 second favorite on the morning line behind Cilla at 6-5.

By California Chrome  out of the crack sprinter Sittin At the Bar , Cilla is 4-for-7 this year, a record that includes a victory in the Prioress Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course. Most recently this fall, she ran third in the Lexus Raven Run Stakes (G2) at Keeneland over a seven-furlong trip that may be slightly beyond her best distance. She was part of a demanding pace, contributing to a late fade.

"Take nothing away from the two fillies that outrun her—they are really nice fillies—but she ran for the wire, it's not like she hung it up. Those fillies came and got her," Brinkman said.

She is 3-for-3 at the Ladies Sprint Distance of six furlongs.

A top-level stakes winner also competes on the Louisiana Champions Day card in No Parole . The Maggi Moss and Greg Tramontin-owned 4-year-old son of Violence  , winner of the 2020 Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Claiborne Farm (G1) at Belmont Park, seeks to bounce back from a pair of distant finishes.

He is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the $100,0000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint Stakes, also at six furlongs. The Tom Amoss trainee faces competition led by Ivery Sisters Racing's Monte Man , last year's Sprint winner for trainer Ron Faucheux.

The 1 1/8-mile Classic drew a modest lineup, led by Israel Flores Horses' Pound for Pound , trained by Andrea Ali, and Grand Luwegee , who races for owner/trainer Gerard Perron.  


Entries: Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint S.

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, December 11, 2021, Race 7

  • STK
  • 6f
  • Dirt
  • $100,000
  • 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
  • 2:56 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Strong Beauty (LA) Carlos L. Marquez 124 Ron Faucheux 6/1
2 2Snowball (LA) Colby J. Hernandez 124 Samuel Breaux 8/1
3 3Cilla (LA)Keeneland Sales Graduate Adam Beschizza 121 Brett A. Brinkman 6/5
4 4Sumitup (LA) Jose Riquelme 115 Delmar R. Caldwell 20/1
5 5Ova Charged (LA) Reylu Gutierrez 117 Jose M. Camejo 7/5
6 6Suzie's Dream (LA) Aubrie Green 118 Lonnie Briley 30/1
7 7Sarah's Passion (LA) Joe Stokes 120 Allen Landry 12/1
8 8Sienna Breeze (LA) Juan P. Vargas 118 Charlie Rosier 30/1


Entries: Louisiana Champions Day Classic S.

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, December 11, 2021, Race 8

  • STK
  • 1 1/8m
  • Dirt
  • $150,000
  • 3 yo's & up
  • 3:25 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Grand Luwegee (LA) Colby J. Hernandez 120 Gerard Perron 4/1
2 2Jimi's a Star (LA) Jorge Guzman 118 Henry B. Johnson, Jr. 6/1
3 3Pound for Pound (LA) Aubrie Green 124 Andrea Ancil Ali 5/2
4 4Mageez (LA) Mitchell Murrill 120 Delmar R. Caldwell 10/1
5 5Unrestricted (LA) Jose Riquelme 120 Kenneth L. Hargrave 8/1
6 6Who Took the Money (LA) Deshawn L. Parker 121 W. Bret Calhoun 9/2
7 7Secret Vista (LA) Carlos L. Marquez 120 Angel M. Cordero 12/1
8 8Highland Creek (LA) Adam Beschizza 115 W. Bret Calhoun 6/1


Entries: Louisiana Champions Day Sprint S.

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, December 11, 2021, Race 10

  • STK
  • 6f
  • Dirt
  • $100,000
  • 3 yo's & up
  • 4:23 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Father Goose (LA) Pedro L. Cotto, Jr. 122 Ricky Courville 20/1
2 2Monte Man (LA) Adam Beschizza 118 Ron Faucheux 4/1
3 3Hail State (LA) Joe Stokes 120 Allen Landry 10/1
4 4Sir Wellington (LA)Keeneland Sales Graduate Marcelino Pedroza, Jr. 121 Hugh H. Robertson 8/1
5 5Bertie's Galaxy (LA) Jareth Loveberry 124 Ron Faucheux 4/1
6 6Swot Analysis (LA) Deshawn L. Parker 117 Mark E. Casse 8/1
7 7Pickens (LA) Juan P. Vargas 118 David C. Gomez 10/1
8 8Takes Two to Tango (LA) Emanuel Nieves 118 J. Luis Garcia 8/1
9 9Izzy's Baby Boy (LA) Aubrie Green 120 Scott Gelner 20/1
10 10No Parole (LA)Keeneland Sales Graduate James Graham 124 Thomas M. Amoss 3/1