Our Lost Love, X Clown Score in Divisions of Louisiana Futurity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Grant LaGrange
Racing Media Relations Coordinator
Our Lost Love, X Clown Score in Divisions of Louisiana Futurity
Steve Asmussen denied 1,000th stakes score with favorite in filly race
On the lead virtually every step of the way as the 3-1 second choice under jockey Mitchell Murrill, Tri-star Racing LLC’s Our Lost Love scored the first of two wins on the card for trainer Joseph M. Foster, taking the 2-year-old filly division of the $100,000 Louisiana Futurity on Sunday at Fair Grounds Racecourse.
The daughter of Half Ours stopped the timer in 1:13.25 for six furlongs over a fast track. Lizzy’s Star was a length back in second and the 1-2 favorite Vacherie Girl, who defeated Our Lost Love three weeks ago in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Lassie, checked in third, thus denying Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen his 1,000th career stakes win.
“She broke well and we got to the lead,” Murrill said. “I figured Vacherie Girl was somewhere in the middle of the pack but my horse had enough left even though they were trying to run us down late.”
“She does like the lead,” Foster said. “When she perked her ears up, that’s a sign that she was very comfortable. We knew other horses (were capable) of outfinishing her, so we knew she had to run her best. We got on the inside rail, Mitch (jockey Murrill) did his job, and we couldn’t be happier with the result.”
Our Last Love now boasts a career record of 5-3-1-0 with earnings of $114,820.
Gabe Saez, jockey of runner-up Lizzy’s Star – “She was sharp out of the gate,” Saez said. “I was expecting Our Lost Love to come back to me but she ran a huge race. This is the first time I was ever on this filly and I think we got along real well. I love the way she ran and how she felt under me. I know she’s still learning but in the future we’re going to be just fine with her. She didn’t get tired. When I brought her up to the leader at the top of the stretch I thought we would have enough but the winner was just really game today.”
In the 2-year-old boys division of the $100,000 Louisiana Futurity, Set-Hut LLC’s X Clown (3-1) overcame an adventurous trip and dug deep late under Tyler Woodley to fend off 51-1 longshot Reach the Circle by a neck for trainer Jerry Delhomme, stopping the timer in 1:13.88 for six furlongs on a fast trak. Fast Verdict checked in third at 57-1.
In August, X Clown scored his first stakes victory in the $50,000 Evangeline Downs Prince Stakes at Evangeline Downs. Following the stakes win, X Clown ran twice at Delta, finishing second best in the $100,000 Louisiana Legacy Stakes in advance of a fifth place run in the open company Jean Lafitte Stakes.
The son of Jimmy Creed now sports a career record of 6-3-2-0 with purse earnings of $142,400.
“I was cursing Tyler at the top of the stretch,” Delhomme said of jockey Woodley. “I told him get straight in the stretch, count back from three, and then go, but the horse was just pulling him. Tyler had to make his move when he did and credit to him for getting this horse in the right spot and getting him to grind to the wire.
“It’s great to win a race like this,” Delhomme continued. “We purchased this horse as group with my Dad (Jerry) and my brother (former NFL quarterback Jake) picking him out and getting him ready. It’s a great day for us.”
“I was closer than I wanted to be,” Woodley said. “I wanted to be a couple of lengths off the lead but at the top of the stretch things got a little tight. I had to use a little horse to tip him out. I’m really proud of this horse and can’t thank the guys that take care of him enough.”
Jose Guerrero jockey of runner up Reach the Circle – “He ran huge.” Guerrero said. “I was in a good spot and I really thought I had it. I was trying to be very patient. I really thought I was going to go by to him but just didn’t happen today.”
-30
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 is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global
Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 13 off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. The 148th Thoroughbred Racing Season – highlighted by the 107 th running of the Louisiana Derby – will run from November 28, 2019 through March 29, 2020. More information can be found online at www.FairGroundsRaceCourse.com.
Information set forth in this press release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”) provides certain “safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are made pursuant to the Act. The reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time and/or management’s good faith belief with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking information to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the following: the effect of economic conditions on our consumers’ confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; public perceptions or lack of confidence in the integrity of our business; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; general risks related to real estate ownership, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations, including the impact of natural and other disasters on our operations and our ability to obtain insurance recoveries in respect of such losses; inability to identify and complete acquisition, expansion or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; legalization of online real money gaming and sports wagering in the United States, and our ability to capitalize on and predict such legalization; the number of people attending and wagering on live horse races; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; inadvertent infringement of the intellectual property of others; inability to protect our own intellectual property rights; security breaches and other security risks related to our technology, personal information, source code and other proprietary information, including failure to comply with regulations and other legal obligations relating to receiving, processing, storing and using personal information; payment- related risks, such as chargebacks for fraudulent credit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; compliance with payment processing and payment transmission regulations; work stoppages and labor issues; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; the inability of our totalisator company, United Tote, to maintain its processes accurately, keep its technology current or maintain its significant customers; weather conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; increased competition in the horseracing business; changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; declining popularity in horseracing; seasonal fluctuations in our horseracing business due to geographic concentration of our operations; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; the cost and possibility for delay, cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the develop.m.ent and expansion of casinos; concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; impact of further legislation prohibiting tobacco smoking; geographic concentration of our casino business; changes in regulatory environment for our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; increase in competition in the advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; inability to retain current customers or attract new customers to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; and failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment in our ability to offer advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming.
