1751 Gentilly Blvd.,
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Contact: Jim Mulvihill, Communications and Pari-Mutuel Marketing Manager, 504.948.1233, james.mulvihill@fgno.com
Contact: Graham Ross, Staff Writer, 504.948.1255, graham.ross@fgno.com
daisy devine meets ‘queen’ in tuesday’s mardi gras
By Graham Ross, Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS (Saturday, February 18, 2012) – In an appetizing matchup worthy of boldfaced attention, Clark Brewster’s Cherokee Queen appears ready to accept a challenge from James Miller’s Daisy Devine in Fat Tuesday’s 67th renewal of the $75,000 Mardi Gras Handicap in New Orleans, scheduled to be run over Fair Grounds’ historic Stall-Wilson turf course.
The Mardi Gras ’Cap, for grass-favoring fillies and mares at about a mile and a sixteenth, serves as the showcase event for the only Tuesday racing program of the 2011-2012 Fair Grounds season and has a scheduled first-race post time of 12:40 p.m.
Cherokee Queen, a 7-year-old mare scheduled to be bred later this season, has made two starts at Fair Grounds this winter – both in stakes events – and won them both. Trained by Steve Margolis, the well-seasoned member of the distaff set won Fair Grounds’ $75,000 Marie Krantz Memorial in her last start Jan. 14 and the $75,000 Blushing K. D. Handicap before that here Dec. 17. She has been installed as the slight 9-5 morning line choice in the Mardi Gras. Veteran reinsman Shaun Bridgmohan, Fair Grounds’ jockey champion two winters ago who was aboard for both those tallies, returns in the irons on Fat Tuesday and will make up most of the starting Mardi Gras ’Cap top weight of 121 pounds.
Daisy Devine, a 4-year-old filly who was the heroine of last year’s Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks, has made one trip to the post this season in the
Capable of providing strong competition for the top two in the Mardi Gras is Glen Hill Farm’s Holidaysatthtefarm, who has been established as the 9-2 third choice in the early line. The daughter of 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones finished second in last year’s $105,000 Florida Oaks and was more recently fourth behind Daisy Devine in the Valley View last fall over the Lexington lawn.
Completing the Mardi Gras field is Paul and Andrena Van Doren’s Sterling Madame, Leandro Goncalves, 113, (6-1); Johan Paplaczyk and Edward Mallon’s Rose Medallion, Miguel Mena, 112, (15-1); Harris Thoroughbreds’
About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, the nation’s third-oldest racetrack, has been in operation since 1872. Located in
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James J. Mulvihill
Communications & Pari-Mutuel Marketing Manager
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
A Churchill Downs Incorporated Company
1751 Gentilly Boulevard,
504.948.1233 [office]
504.481.8770 [cell]
Fair Grounds Oaks Day March 31
Starlight Racing Feb. 24, March 16 and March 30
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