Avie’s Tale Heads Pelleteri Stakes at Fair Grounds
Ivan Dalos’s Avie’s Tale, heroine of Fair Grounds’ $58,000 Blushing K D Handicap on New Year’s Day when that race was taken off the grass and run on a sloppy main track, has been installed as the lukewarm 3-1 choice for Saturday’s 25th anniversary edition of the $60,000 Pelleteri Stakes for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16-miles over the main track.
Trained by Canadian conditioner Josie Carroll, Avie’s Tale will be ridden by Fair Grounds’ leading rider Rosie Napravnik. In her last trip to the post the daughter of Tale of the Cat out of a Lord Avie mare ran second in Fair Grounds’ $58,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial Stakes over the Stall-Wilson turf course.
Capable of providing strong competition for Avie’s Tale in the Pelleteri is Coteau Grove Farms’ Bella Medaglia, tabbed as the Pelleteri’s 7-2 second choice and now conditioned by Bret Calhoun but trained by Glenn Delahoussaye in her previous outings. Veteran Louisiana-based reinsman Kerwin Clark, who was aboard for her 5 3/4-length victory in her last start Jan. 21 in optional claiming allowance company, returns in the irons Saturday. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro finished second in last year’ $74,000 Tiffany Lass Stakes and fourth in last year’s Grade III Silverbulletday Stakes.
Not to be discounted in the Pelleteri is Mrs. Yoshio Fujita’s Ravi’s Song, fourth to Dundalk 5’s Dundalk Dust in Churchill’s Grade II Falls City Handicap in her last start Nov. 25 and third choice at 9-2 in Saturday’s morning line. Conditioned by Carl Bowman, the daughter of Unbridled’s Song out of the Bowman-trained 2000 Grade II Delaware Handicap-winning mare Lu Ravi annexed the $81,000 Shelby County Arts Handicap at Indiana Downs last July. Corey Lanerie gets the mount.
Skychai Racing and Twin Creeks Farm et al’s Age of Humor was third in last year’s Silverbulletday Stakes before going on to finish 12th in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks. Shaun Bridgmohan has the mount for trainer Mike Maker. The Distorted Humor filly is 6-1 on the morning line.
Completing the Pelleteri field is Ike and Dawn Thrash’s Third Dawn, James Graham up; Jim Tafel’s Fighter Wing, Shane Sellers; Chrysalis Stables’ Silver La Belle, Jamie Theriot; and L T B Inc. and Miles Childers’ Sheer Beauty, Richard Eramia.