(From track report)
Breaking in full stride to make the pace, Robert Mitchell’s Good and Lucky showed the way throughout and captured the $75,000 Woodchopper Stakes Saturday by 4 1/4 lengths under steady showers at sloppy Fair Grounds Race Course.
Ridden by Jesse Campbell for trainer Josie Carroll, the sophomore son of Wild Rush took advantage of his speed over the sloppy main track after rain forced the race to be transferred off the turf. Good and Lucky toured the 1 1/16 miles in 1:47.08 after setting early fractions of :24.08, :48.06 and 1:13.23.
The win was the third in eight lifetime starts for Good and Lucky, increasing his career earnings to $113,625. Because six of the scheduled 10 starters scratched when the race was taken off the turf, there was no show wagering. The winner returned $7 and $3.
“We did just what you’d expect with a four-horse field,” said Campbell. “We used our speed to our advantage.”
Odds-on favorite Flanders Fields, ridden by Lonnie Meche, prompted the pace and could not get by the winner, but was easily second best. He paid $2.20 to place. Creative Force and Malameeze trailed.
The scratches were Arbuckle Bandit, Electric Chant, International Cat, Nascar Guy, Storm Treasure, and Stradivinsky.
(Chart, Equibase)
