NODAH SPLASHES HOME TO TAKE THE $75,000 EVD DISTAFF
MIDNIGHT PASSION CAPTURES HER SECOND STAKE OF THE SEASON
OPELOUSAS, LA –Nodah kicked in a strong stretch punch along the rail to win the $75,000 EVD Distaff at Evangeline Downs. The Friday card featured a trio of stake races for Louisiana-bred fillies and/or fillies and mares. The races were contested over a sloppy track with rain falling throughout the evening.
Nodah overcame a bit of a troublesome journey with jockey Edward Santiago to rally and win the $75,000 EVD Distaff. The race for fillies and mares 3-years-old and upward was contested at the distance of one mile.
R T’s Gem was sharpest away in the Distaff and as the field moved into the first turn Kalil tried to wedge through on the rail and caused some bumping for multiple rivals. The field sorted themselves out into the backstretch with R T’s Gem traveling comfortably on the front with Norah G and Precious Money in closest attendance to the pace. Nodah had worked out a spot in mid-pack as the field covered the opening quarter-mile in 24.26 and the half-mile split in 48.99.
Santiago and Nodah tried to move past R T’s Gem on the rail on the far turn but were unable to get through cleanly and dropped a length behind the leader as they covered six furlongs in 1:14.38. Canal Street was producing a closing bid and Kalil, after causing the first turn commotion tried to rally wide. As the field straightened away in the stretch Nodah re-rallied on the rail and surged past to pull away to a convincing 3-1/2 length victory. Canal Street rallied into second, a length better than a tiring R T’s Gem in third. The winner covered the mile in 1:40.96.
Trained by Benard Chatters, Nodah is a winner for the seventh time in 26 career starts. She earned $45,000 in the victory and her career earnings jump to $341,180.
Nodah was bred by the team of J. Adcock and Nathan Granger. She is a 5-year-old bay mare sired by Mor Spirit. She is out of the El Corredor mare Forest Path.
Nodah paid $10 to win, $6.60 to place and $4.80 to show. Canal Street returned $4.80 and $3.20 and R T’s Gem paid $4.80.
Synthetic surged to the front turning for home and cruised to an easy win in the $75,000 Creole Lady. The race for fillies and mares 3-years-old and upward was contested at the distance of 5-1/2 furlongs.
Miss Priority rocketed away from her outside post, while jockey Emanuel Nieves and Synthetic followed closely as they cleared the field and crossed over towards the rail. Six String and Sassi Strutter both encountered some brief traffic as the leaders crossed and sped away through an opening quarter-mile in 22.22 seconds.
Synthetic easily rolled past a fast-fading Miss Priority to gain the advantage heading into the stretch, while Six String and Sassi Strutter both made bids to get past the rest of the field. Synthetic extended the lead in the run to the wire and finished 5-1/2 lengths ahead of Six String, with Sassi Strutter another half-length back in third. The winner stopped the clock in 1:04.27.
Trained by Joseph Felks and owned by Keith Plaisance, Synthetic wins for the fifth time in only six career starts. She finished second to Sassi Strutter in her only blemish. She picked up $45,000 in the victory and her career bankroll is now $187,400.
Synthetic is a 4-year-old bay filly sired by Midshipman. She is out of the Include mare Always Here Too and was bred by the team of Clear Creek Stud LLC and Theodore Brandon.
Synthetic paid $2.80 to win as the overwhelming favorite, $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show. Six String returned $4 and $2.40, with Sassi Strutter paying $2.20.
Midnight Passion grabbed the lead leaving the backstretch and powered away under jockey Colby Hernandez to take the $75,000 Cajun Miss. The race for 3-year-olds traversed the distance of seven furlongs.
Midnight Passion and Whisper Me a Smile were the two quickest away and traded the lead through the opening quarter-mile in 22.92 seconds. As the field moved into the turn, Midnight Passion poked her head back in front of Whisper Me a Smile with Thrill Seeker and Walknto NewOrleans chasing a couple of lengths back. Midnight Passion turned for home after a half-mile in 46.37 seconds and began to kick clear.
The final winning margin for Midnight Passion was a widening five lengths. Liteupthenite rallied from last to pass Whisper Me a Smile a half-length to the good, and Grand Windfall was fourth. The winner stopped the timer in 1:25.34.
Trained by Patrick Devereux, Jr., she is a winner for the fourth time in five career starts. This is her second stake win of the season after taking the Acadiana on opening night. She earned $45,000 in the score and her career earnings now stand at $158,800.
Owned and bred by Coteau Grove Farms LLC (Keith and Ginger Myers), Midnight Passion was sired by Quality Road. The grey/roan filly is out of the Midnight Lute mare Midnight Fantasy.
Midnight Passion returned $5.20 to win, $3.80 to place and $2.80 to show. Liteupthenite paid $6 and $2.60, with Whisper Me a Smile paying $5.40.
Live racing resumes on Saturday with a special early 4:50pm first post. The headliner of the three stake races for Louisiana-bred runners is the $75,000 EVD Classic. The Evangeline Downs Thoroughbred season runs until September 7.
For more information on Evangeline Downs visit the track’s website at https://evangelinedowns.boydgaming.com/racing.
Evangeline Downs information can also be found on Twitter @EVDracing and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EvangelineDownsRacing.
About Evangeline Downs Racetrack& Casino
Encompassing over 750 acres, Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation, features over 39,000 square feet of casino space as well a racetrack that boasts state-of-the-art facilities with a 7/8-mile turf track and a one mile main track. The casino includes over 1,000 slot and video poker machines, two dining options, and plenty of meeting space including track-side private club suites. Evangeline Downs also includes a newly opened FanDuel Sportsbook. For more information, visit www.evangelinedowns.com and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Founded in 1975, Boyd Gaming Corporation is a leading geographically diversified operator of 28 gaming entertainment properties in 10 states, and manager of a tribal casino in northern California. The Company is also a strategic partner and 5% equity owner of FanDuel Group, the nation's leading sports-betting operator.
