Central City, Dubious Miss among top draws on Santa Super Saturday

Central City, Dubious Miss among top draws on Santa Super

Saturday

Fair Grounds will offer a five-race stakes extravaganza known as Santa Super

Saturday that features the likes of Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G2) runner-up

CENTRAL CITY (City Place); Grade 3 winners DUBIOUS MISS (E Dubai) and MAD

FLATTER (Flatter); and unbeaten two-year-old CHEYANN BELIEF (D'wildcat). Each

race is worth $60,000, and the Saturday stakes will be complemented by a full

slate of free activities for all Fair Grounds visitors, from casual fans to

families to everyday horseplayers.

Before the races, a Horse Ownership Seminar with trainer Bret Calhoun will

take place at 9:30 a.m. (CST) and a Fan Education Seminar with handicapper Gary

West starts at 11:30 a.m. During the races, stop by the trackside tent to have a

photo taken with Santa Claus and enjoy other holiday-themed activities as part

of the Fair Grounds Winter Wonderland.

Central City is the likely favorite among 11 turf sprinters in the 5

1/2-furlong

Bonapaw

S.. Winner of the Jim McKay Turf Sprint S. earlier this year, the Ronny

Werner-trained colt exits a pair of top-class runner-up performances, finishing

a half-length back in the Woodford S. (G3) prior to his commendable performance

in the Breeders' Cup. The four-year-old set a pressured pace of :21 2/5 and :44

3/5 in the Turf Sprint before weakening slightly to Chamberlain Bridge (War

Chant) in deep stretch, but Central City still managed to finish clear of third.

He'll have blinkers removed on Saturday and will retain the services of Robby Albarado.

Other Bonapaw runners include defending champion GRAND TRAVERSE (Pioneering);

stakes winner DUE DATE (El Prado [Ire]), who finished sixth in the Breeders' Cup

Turf Sprint; and a couple of intriguing prospects, Grade 2 winner BACKTALK

(Smarty Jones) and multiple stakes victor COOL BULLET (Red Bullet), who will

both make their turf debut.

Dubious Miss will look to rebound from a nearly-disastrous trip in the

November 26 Clark H. (G1) when he lines up for the 1 1/16-mile

Tenacious H. on the main track. Sixth as the Tenacious favorite last year,

the six-year-old gelding kicked off his 2010 campaign with an excellent second

in the grassy Fair Grounds H. (G3) and then captured the Ben Ali S. (G3) on

Keeneland's Polytrack. The Paul McGee pupil finished fourth when returning from

a six-month hiatus in the Fayette S. (G2) two starts back and loomed as a

serious threat turning for home in the Clark before being side-swiped by his own

stablemate, Demarcation (Gulch), who was disqualified from fourth to last for

the blatant interference.

Dubious Miss is training forwardly in preparation, recording a five-furlong

bullet drill in 1:00 over the New Orleans track last Saturday, and will keep

Albarado up.

Mad Flatter is also a candidate to rebound following a disappointing performance at

Churchill Downs. A romping 6 1/2-length winner of the Spend a Buck H. (G3) two

back, the Jeff Thornberry charge stumbled badly at the start of the Breeders'

Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and never got involved in the race, trailing most of the

way at the back of the pack. However, the five-year-old has run well at Fair Grounds (6-3-0-2),

loves the 8 1/2-furlong distance (three-for-four) and garnered a field-best 107

BRIS Speed rating in the Spend a Buck. He'll be re-united with jockey James Graham.

Z HUMOR (Distorted Humor) will enter the Tenacious on the upswing for Steve

Asmussen, winning the November 20 Delta Mile S. by four lengths, and Grade 3

scorers ATONED (Repent) and COUNTRY FLAVOR (Empire Maker) are also entered.

Cheyann Belief will bring a two-for-two mark into the

Sugar

Bowl S. at six furlongs. A 10-length debut winner at Calder in mid-May, the

juvenile colt was privately sold to new connections and made his first start for

trainer Steve Margolis in an October 31 allowance at Churchill Downs, winning

gamely by a half-length. The dark bay is eligible to improve off that tightener

and has earned very respectable BRIS Speed ratings in both starts. Shaun

Bridgmohan keeps the mount.

Unbeaten SOARING NATIVE (Early Flyer) will return to open company following a

two-length score over Texas-bred stakes rivals at Retama Park on September 25.

The Bob Young trainee broke his maiden by seven lengths at Louisiana Downs in

July. JOE HOLLYWOOD (Congrats) and GONNA TELL MAMA (Bernstein), a couple of

promising last-out maiden winners, are also part of the seven-horse contingent.

The Letellier Memorial S.

is the juvenile filly counterpart to the Sugar Bowl,

and multiple stakes vixen FASTATION (Valid Expectations) and Sorority S. winner

UNBRIDLED PRAISE (Songandaprayer) are top contenders in the six-horse field.

The stakes action will kick off

Esplanade S. for fillies and mares. Five-time stakes queen LADY ALEXANDER

(Exchange Rate), a half-length second in the October 16 College of New Jersey S.

at Monmouth Park most recently, has been transferred to new trainer Glenn

Delahoussaye and is set to make her first appearance at Fair Grounds in the 5

1/2-furlong event. WILDCAT HEIRESS (Wildcat Heir), who exits a pair of

wire-to-wire wins over allowance rivals at Churchill Downs and Keeneland, is

also part of the five-horse field. The speedy sophomore lass will make her

stakes bow for conditioner Tevis McCauley.