Pacific Pink Captures LA Champions Day Ladies

Adding to her breakout season, Pacific Pink overcame a troubled stretch run to post a three-quarter-length victory in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Stakes Dec. 12 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

The fourth stakes win of the season didn't come easy for Pacific Pink and jockey Robby Albarado. They bumped longshot Private Promise and rider Richard Eramia while trying to find room near the three-sixteenths pole, bullied their way to daylight near the eighth pole, and then split rivals Private Promise and fading Aliana at the sixteenth pole on her way to the hard-fought win.

In rallying past three horses in the stretch, Keith Plaisance's Pacific Pink knocked down her second straight stakes win after rolling to a five-length score in the Elge Rasberry Stakes Sept. 19 at Louisiana Downs. The 3-year-old Private Vow—Truly Romantic, by Robyn Dancer filly has a 5-2-2 mark and $267,900 in earnings this season from nine starts.

Pacific Pink, the 1-2 favorite, completed the 1 1/16-mile test for Louisiana-bred fillies and mares in 1:46.15 on a fast track. Pacific Pink paid $3 to win, $2.40 to place, and $2.10 to show. Private Promise held second and returned $14 and $7.60 while third-place Indian Wind returned $4.80.

The Ladies Classic is one of eight Thoroughbred stakes for Louisiana-breds, with total purses of $800,000, on Saturday's Fair Grounds card. 

In the Louisiana Champions Day Turf Stakes, Hot Zapper pulled off an upset victory when the 21-1 shot edged 4-5 favorite String King by a nose in a three-horse photo that saw Hopeful Nation finish third, a neck behind String King.

Ronald Webb's Hot Zapper (Ghostzapper  —Hot Talent, by Alphabet Soup) secured the first stakes win of his career while ending grade IIII winner String King's three-race win streak and denying the favorite what would have been his 14th career stakes win.

Trained by Andrew Leggio Jr., Hot Zapper was guided to victory by Jose Riquelme.

Also scoring her first stakes win on Saturday's card was Floyd Pitzer homebred Aunt Nellie, who scored a 3 1/4-length victory in the Louisiana Champions Day Lassie Stakes, a six-furlong test for Louisiana-bred 2-year-old fillies. Aunt Nellie, a daughter of Musket Man—Vanilla Whirl, by Island Whirl, boasts a 2-1-1 record in four career starts.

In the $50,000 Starter Handicap, Hardy Racing Stable's Watch My Smoke scored a clear victory under Colby Hernandez. Trained by Keith Bourgeois, Watch My Smoke finished third in last year's Louisiana Champions Day Classic, second in that race in 2012, and second in the 2011 Starter Handicap.

This story will be updated.