Set-Hut’s Mangum Battles Back Who Took the Money in the Morreale

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• Overcoming Early Trouble, El Dinero Snags Peluso Purse with Late Rally

• Autumns Strong Man Flexes at a Price to Win the Robideaux

New Orleans, La (Nov. 18, 2023) – Three thrilling Louisiana-bred stakes rounded out opening weekend at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, but the most heroic performance came from Set-Hut’s Mangum. Winner of the $75,000 Jacob V. Morreale Memorial, the 3-year-old had his hooves full late as the 6-time stakes-winner Who Took the Money came flying from behind. The two went eyeball-to-eyeball in the final stages before Mangum put his older foe away, surging through the wire to win by a neck.

Getting the call from trainer Jeff Delhomme, veteran pilot Corey Lanerie guided Mangum the 1 mile 70 yards over the fast main track in 1:43.60. With four-wins in a row, the gelded son of Mo Tom is now 11:6-1-3 with $255,360 in the coffers. The public priced him at 4.50-1.

Overcoming Early Trouble, El Dinero Snags Peluso Purse with Late Rally

It would take a rail rally for the ages for Tav Enterprises’ El Dinero to win the $75,000 Joseph R. Peluso Memorial on Saturday at Fair Grounds. As the juveniles fought for early position, the son of El Deal took the worst of several bumps and struggled for footing. Soon trailing the field of nine males, in the far turn of the 5 1/2-furlong sprint the colt began to find his stride. By the 1/8th pole, jockey James Graham had El Dinero flying up the rail and with half the field still to pass, the Patrick Devereux trainee kept finding to be the first to cross the finish line. One length was the margin of defeat for Pop’s Peppysteper, who finished full of run himself. The final time of El Dinero’s phenomenal comeback clocked in at 1:05.56 and he rewarded his faithful at 2.70-1.

El Dinero’s two career wins have both been stakes and he has never finished out of the money, tallying a 5:2-1-2 record with $118,990 in earnings. Devereux reported after the race that the end goal is the Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile on December 9 at Fair Grounds.

Autumns Strong Man Flexes at a Price to win the Robideaux

As the front runners began to tire, Autumns Strong Man began to flex the best run of his 21-race career to steal the $75,000 Larry D. Robideaux Memorial at odds of 32-1. Owner and trainer Gary Husak called upon jockey Angel Suarez to guide the gelded son of Strong Mandate, and he couldn’t have asked for a better trip. After saving ground, Suarez waited until the 1/8th pole to tip Autumns Strong Man out into the clear, and the 4-year-old responded in kind by kicking home with just enough to hold off the late-flying Langs Day by a diminishing head. 

Making his third stakes attempt count, Autumns Strong Man’s bank bulged to $164,275. The new face on the Louisiana-bred stakes sprinting scene sports a 21: 4-3-2 career record.

Racing at Fair Grounds resumes on Thursday, Nov. 23. With ten races slated kicking off at noon central, the centerpiece 99th running of the $200,000 Thanksgiving Classic will go as Race 9. 

Follow this link for the full results and payouts of Saturday’s three stakes:
https://www.equibase.com/static/chart/summary/RaceCardIndexFG111823USA-EQB.html

Post Race Interviews

Connections of the Jacob Morreale winner, Mangum

Jockey, Corey Lanerie

“I was hoping to get a good break and if they gave the lead to me, I was going to take it. He’s run well when he’s close. We got bumped a little bit but he fell into a good rhythm and got a good spot. Then he dug in all the way to the wire. Who Took the Money is a really good horse and at one point I thought he had me. But my horse dug in and gave me a little bit extra.”

Trainer, Jeff Delhomme

“He was working really good, doing everything right ahead of this. Over the last four races he has really stepped it up. We cross-entered him in the sprint (Larry D. Robideaux Memorial), and we would like to see him sprint, but with a shorter field in this race, we thought maybe he would not get in as much trouble. We decided to find out what kind of horse we really have facing Who Took the Money and Behemah Star. We’d like to do Louisiana Champions Day, but we normally let them tell us when they’re ready. When we put him back on the track, he’ll give us the answer.”

Connections of the Joseph Peluso winner, El Dinero

Jockey, James Graham

“He got ping-ponged around for about 1/16th of a mile. I had to let him get his feet underneath him. He relaxed very nicely and picked up speed along the rail all the way to the wire. As of right now he’s doing everything right.”

Trainer, Patrick Devereux Jr.

“We talked at length about how Fair Grounds’ long stretch would suit him. Louisiana champions Day has always been the target. We’re honored to win the Joe Ray Peluso–he was a good man. ”

Connections of the Larry Robideaux winner, Autumns Strong Man

Jockey, Angel Suarez

“Thanks to Gary Husak–he’s done an excellent job with this horse. I’ve never been on the horse but Gary told me he was ready, forget about the odds. Hustle him out of there, let him find his stride, and it worked out perfectly. Two horses went out to the lead, I was able to save some ground on the rail, and once I asked him he started grinding. Once I got him out into the clearing, it was all about him.”

Trainer and owner, Gary Husak

“When he was running here last year, he had three or four fourths in a row. It wasn’t until I cut him that he began to move forward. Brain (Hernandez Jr.) told me after he rode him to a win last winter, ‘Gary, you’re going to have a lot of fun with this horse over the summer.’ We’re looking at Louisiana Champions Day next.”

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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 16 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 152nd Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 111th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 17, 2023 through March 24, 2024. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.