We just returned from New Orleans and I’m reminded of the Seinfeld episode about the Soup Nazi. The Soup Nazi was an eccentric soup stand owner who obsessed over how patrons ordered their soup. If you didn’t order properly, he would move you along and declare, “no soup for you”.

The trip to New Orleans was to watch six of our (Belladonna Racing, Woodford Racing, et al) horses run at The Fairgrounds on Saturday. All six were 3 year olds, with four being maidens trying for their first career win. Of the four maidens, three were first time starters which always adds another element of uncertainty. The two starters who had won previously, ran in the Silverbulletday Stakes which awarded Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top five finishers.

Love and Trust kicked off the day with a third place finish in her first career start. The combination of an unfavorable outside post position (#12) and her jockey making what he thought was a winning move too prematurely, cost us any chance of winning.

Our next starters were Mojacar and Double Entendre in a loaded with talent maiden special weight race. Both ran well in their first career starts but clearly want to run longer distances. Mojacar lost any chance of winning when he was knocked sideways coming out of the starting gate by the horse to his outside. Despite the challenging start, he finished strongly to get third place. Double Entendre finished well also and clearly will benefit from the racing experience.

Going into his race, Roguishness looked like he would benefit from having prior racing experience. As it turned out, the experience had no impact. He ran evenly and was never in contention.

In our final chance to get to the Winners Circle, Atropa and White Smoke ran in the Silverbulletday Stakes. Atropa broke well from the rail and saved ground throughout the race. At the top of the stretch, she made a run at the ultimate winner but couldn’t get by her, finishing third by a length and a half. Although she didn’t win, she earned six Kentucky Oaks qualifying points. She now has eleven qualifying points after previously earning five when finishing second in the Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs in November.

Here is a replay of the Atropa race.

Thoroughbred Daily News article on the Atropa race.

White Smoke, our other entry in the Silverbulletday Stakes finished sixth. She will benefit from the route distance and facing experienced stakes horses.

We had a great time at the races, but The Fairgrounds said there will be “no hardware for you”! Despite getting shut out, we had a great time touring New Orleans and enjoying beignets and all the various Cajun and Creole specialties!