Heavy On Themister, ridden by Rosie Napravnik, ran away with the 10th running of the $200,000 Louisiana Premier Night Championship at Delta Downs Feb. 2 to highlight a 10-stakes card for state-breds at Vinton, La (VIDEO).
Owned by Susan and Richard Savoie's Rebecca Farms and T.J. Dickey, second choice Heavy On Themister defeated 2-1 favorite Lovely Vin by 5 1/2 lengths.
Heavy On Themister's win broke a string of four consecutive victories by Star Guitar in the LAPN Championship. Star Guitar retired as the leading Louisiana-bred money earner with over $1.7 million in lifetime earnings and now stands at Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, Louisiana.
Heavy On Themister broke sharply from the gate and stayed close to the pace set by Lovely Vin through fractions of :23.23 for the quarter mile, :47.96 for the half, and 1:13.21 for six furlongs.
When the field reached the homestretch Napravnik called on her mount to produce his best run and he responded by drawing clear and hitting the finish line well in front of Lovely Vin, who stayed on for second. Populist Politics rallied from well back to be third, a neck behind the runner-up.
Heavy On Themister, who is trained by Shawn David, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.37 over a fast track.
The victory by Heavy On Themister was the sixth of his 15-race career. The winner's paycheck of $120,000 on Saturday night boosted the gelding's bankroll to $402,050.
Heavy On Themister is a 5-year-old by Lion Tamer, out of the Twining mare Twinwinwin. He was bred in Louisiana by his owners.
The $150,000 LAPN Distaff for older fillies and mares was won by Coteau Grove Farms' 4-5 favorite Little Ms Protocol under jockey Shaun Bridgmohan. The 4-year-old filly is trained by Patrick Devereaux, Jr.
The $125,000 LAPN Prince for 3-year-olds competing at seven furlongs was taken by Hero Force, also ridden by Napravnik. Hero Force is owned by Robbie Norman and is conditioned by Bret Calhoun.
The $125,000 LAPN Starlet for 3-year-old fillies was annexed by Guadalupe High under jockey Gerard Melancon, who notched his 4,000 career win at Delta Downs Jan. 30. Guadalupe High is trained by Ronny Werner and is owned by Werner, Broth, Burnett and Posey.
Su Casa G Casa ran off with the $100,000 LAPN Sprint, as he rallied from behind under jockey Miguel Mena who accepted the mount from trainer Calhoun. Su Casa G Casa is owned by Thomas Galvin.
The $100,000 LAPN Matron was taken by Arnaud and Clavelle's Wire Me Bessie, who was ridden by jockey Kerwin Clark. Wire Me Bessie is trained by Richard Smith.