Prayer for Relief romps in Tenacious on Santa Super Saturday

Prayer for Relief romps in Tenacious on Santa Super

Saturday

Following subpar efforts in his last pair of stakes, Zayat Stable's Prayer for Relief

answered the prayers of jockey David Flores and trainer Steve Asmussen

with a 6 1/4-length tally in the $74,250

Tenacious Handicap at Fair Grounds, the main event at the New Orleans oval's six-stakes race Santa

Super Saturday program.

"He put me in a spot where I wanted to be," Flores said.

"It's never too early when you have the horse to make that kind of run."

Prayer for Relief toured 1 1/16 miles over the fast main track in 1.43 3/5 after

tracking in third through the early splits of :24 1/5 and :48. The five-year-old

son of Jump Start took command entering the far turn and drew off from there to increase his career earnings to

$1,580,913. Now 8-5-4 from 25 starts, the dark bay now boasts six stakes

victories, including a pair of Grade 2 wins, and nine black-type placings.

"He's a really nice horse," Asmussen said. "He ran

his race today. His last two are not up to par for him, whether it be

the course or weather or how things just unfolded.  Just very glad to see him

back in the winner's circle where he belongs."

Grand Contender, the 8-5 favorite who was exiting an easy win in the Delta

Mile, finished fourth.

Cathy and Bob Zollars' Daddy Nose Best also got back on the winning track under

a patient ride from Flores to win the $75,000

"Buddy" Diliberto Memorial Handicap at about 1 1/16 miles over the

firm Stall-Wilson turf

course by 3 1/2 lengths.

Giving the tandem of Flores and Asmussen their second

straight win on Santa Super Saturday, Daddy

Nose Best bumped with a rival at the start before saving ground in the rear of

the field. The Scat Daddy four-year-old went four wide on the final turn and put

in a strong rally to run down pacesetter and 29-1 shot Adios Nardo. Daddy Nose

Best stopped the clock in 1:44 2/5.

"He had great acceleration from the half-mile pole to the

quarter-pole and that's when I went around the group," Flores explained. "When you

have the best horse it is best that way."

Daddy Nose Best improved his career mark to read 23-8-3-2, $867,303, with

this, his fifth stakes victory. The Grade 3-winning bay colt captured the Edward

J. DeBartolo Memorial and Remington Green before a last-out fifth in the River

City Handicap.

Brittlyn Stable's Class Included was away fastest and pressed the early leader

before drawing clear in the stretch of the $73,500

Blushing K. D. Handicap by a 1

3/4 lengths. Shaun Bridgmohan had the call on the Include mare, who completed

about 1 1/16 miles on the green in 1:45 4/5.

"This is a very smart filly," Bridgmohan said. "She's a real straight shooter. All I had to do was to keep her out

of trouble and let her run her race."

Trained by Ron Faucheux, Class Included boosted her career earnings to $552,146

with the payday from her 10th stakes score. A Canadian Grade 3 winner from last

season, the five-year-old bay's scorecard now reads 23-12-7-0 for earning her

second straight stakes victory after a six-length decision in Delta Downs'

Treasure Chest.

"She's a very

classy filly. Hence the name," Faucheux said. "I mean turf, dirt. She's

going to give her best effort every time and we saw that in the numbers."

"Beautiful mare. I mean...absolutely beautiful," owner Evelyn Benoit

added. "I have to say, I have to give all the credit to (Faucheux) because he took his time

and figured her out and has made her look like a million bucks."

Klaravich

Stables and William Lawrence's Sum of the Parts broke in full stride to make the

pace in fractions of :21 4/5 and :46 1/5 before coming home in 1:04 1/5 for

about 5 1/2 grassy furlongs in the $75,000

Bonapaw.

The Speightstown four-year-old was 2 2/3 lengths the best on the wire under

rider Rosie Napravnik.

"(Trainer) Tom (Amoss) told me he does his best work on the lead so that

was the plan," Napravnik stated. "We were

out there pretty quick so he's all heart coming down the lane and all class as

well."

"You know

he is by Speightstown and he is a very versatile sire and this horse, Sum of the

Parts, can run on any surface," Amoss said. "He wins his races by using his speed early and

hanging on at the end. That's what he really did today. He won the race

probably the first half-mile of the race. He got an advantage on the group and

was able to sustain it."

Sum of the Parts defended his title in the Grade 3 Phoenix at Keeneland in

early October, but was unable to duplicate his fourth-placing in the 2012

Breeders' Cup Sprint when tiring to 12th and last in the 2013 running of the

championship event last out. Saturday's return to the winner's circle saw his

lifetime mark improve to 17-7-2-0, $761,543.

Owner Brereton Jones and trainer Larry Jones completed a sweep of

Saturday's two-year-old stakes when Albano, ridden by Kerwin Clark, took

command in midstretch and went on to win the $48,300

Sugar Bowl by 1

1/4 lengths. The bay son of Istan traveled six furlongs on the fast main track in 1:11

2/5 to increase

his career earnings to $58,100 with his second victory in three lifetime starts.

"He finished up strong," Clark remarked. "He was kind of goofing around when he got out by

himself. I still had a lot of gas in the tank."

"I feel this one is better to get around (two turns) than

Mark Valeski did," Larry Jones said of Albano, who is a half-brother to

Grade 2 winner and Louisiana Derby runner-up Mark Valeski. "We felt that 'Mark'

was a little speedier and had more acceleration than this horse but we are high

on him. We hope he does what Mark Valeski did and maybe one better."

"We are very high on this colt," Brereton Jones agreed. "Quite frankly he was named for a wonderful man

at the Seaview Hotel in Florida who's name happens to be Albano. I know Albano

is watching. I know he is yelling and screaming. I know he is one of the

quality guys that you'd like to be able to have something that places him. He

is a very, very good guy."

Brereton Jones'

Divine Beauty, also trained by Larry Jones and ridden by Napravnik, won the

$48,600

Letellier Memorial for juvenile fillies by 6

1/2 lengths, touring

the main-track six furlongs in 1:10 3/5. The Divine Park bay miss is now perfect

in two starts and has banked $57,600 in career earnings.

"We are very excited about her. No question about it," Brereton Jones

declared. "When you get a good filly and put it

in the hands of Larry Jones, you start thinking about having great fillies. Then, when Rosie gets on, it all kind of works together and we are very excited

about every one of them."

"She's trained like she would," Larry Jones added. "She finished running today like she is going to and

should. We are looking forward to stretching her out and way on to the Oaks

again."

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