Touchuponastar Zips To Track Record-Setting Win In New Orleans Classic Repeat
By Kevin Kilroy/Fair Grounds,Paulick Report
Also on Saturday at Fair Grounds, Lagynos prevailed as the favorite in the Muniz Memorial Classic while providing Jose Ortiz his fifth win of the day
Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography
New Orleans Classic and Muniz Memorial winners each topped $2 million in earnings with their victories on Louisiana Derby Day at Fair Grounds as Touchuponastar set a track record in the $500,000 New Orleans Classic (G2) presented by Hagyard and Lagynos captured the $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic (G2).Set-Hut’s Touchuponastar delivered a historic performance in the New Orleans Classic presented by Hagyard, setting a new track record for 1 1/8 miles while successfully defending his title. With the win, the Louisiana-bred star surpassed $2 million in career earnings and further cemented his status among the state’s all-time greats.
Covering the distance in 1:46.84, Touchuponastar broke the previous track record of 1:47.64 set by Nates Mineshaft in the 2012 edition of the race, then known as the New Orleans Handicap. Trained by Jeff Delhomme and ridden by Marcelino Pedroza Jr., he seized command early and never relented, setting fast fractions before turning back challenges from Life and Times and late-running Corporate Power to win by a half-length. Life and Times held third.
“It was a pleasure for me to ride this horse,” Pedroza said. “There was a little pressure, but after the gates opened, I let him go to the front and he did the rest for me. Thanks to Mr. Delhomme, all the family–their great work with this horse made my job a lot easier.”
“He’s just different,” owner Jake Delhomme said. “I think when you see him, when you see the way he acts in the paddock, the way he acts whenever we go to train in the morning, he takes care of himself. We give him breaks in the summertime. He’s easy on himself when he trains, and he knows his job.
There’s a lot of great horsemen in Louisiana, but there’s a lot of great fans, and we appreciate good horses, right? We appreciate it, and we’re lucky he’s been around.This is his seventh year, and, you know, they appreciate him. And I was the same way. You love to see those horses come back and race, and Touchuponastar has a big following. Honestly, it’s a big responsibility on our part, because we want to make sure he’s ready to run every time he comes. But he makes our job pretty easy.”
Touchuponastar returned $4.40 for the win and improved his record to 28-21-4-2 with earnings of $2,060,000.In the Muniz Memorial,
Lagynos also crossed the $2-million mark with a decisive victory.Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Lagynos tracked the pace along the rail before angling out in the stretch to take command and win by one length over Tom’s Magic. Program Trading finished third.Lagynos covered 1 1/8 miles on the turf in 1:48.17, giving Ortiz his fifth win of the day.“This is a nice horse,” Ortiz said. “He does everything right, and he always shows up, even when he gets beat.”“I’m extremely proud of Lagynos,” Asmussen said. “He’s a colt that as a 3-year-old, ran in a lot of races, and had a lot of tough luck trips. He never gave up, but I do believe, you know, with this last two wins, he’s found a new level of confidence. You could see that, you know, he handled so nice for Jose, and when he asked him to run, ran through the wire.”Lagynos paid $5.20 for the victory and improved his record to 25-7-5-7 with earnings of $2,010,166.
About the authorKevin Kilroy/Fair Grounds
Writer, horseplayer, on-air analyst and educator, Kevin Kilroy works for Fair Grounds Race Course, on the Kentucky Derby notes team, and as a freelance content producer.
