Likely Exchange Stakes ($125.000 Purse)
TP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
January 13, 2024

Just four horses took part in the Likely Exchange Stakes, and at the wire three of them looked like they had a shot to win. For a race that had not been on the schedule for eleven years, it was an entertaining finish to say the least. Prevailing in the three-horse photo would be Nine Laffs, a horse that we did pick to win, but went off at odds of almost 8/1 as two others seemed to attract the interest of bettors more. Perhaps they didn’t think the four-year-old filly could get back to being the horse that she was late last year, but after winning a claimer last month, trainer Riggins Racing rediscovered his faith in the filly, and Nine Laffs delivered! It’s the first win for both Riggins Racing and jockey R M Hernandez. Congratulations to them! The winning time was 1:35.58, which is a new stake record. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.60)- Out of the gate, it would be the two big favorites grabbing the early advantage. Both Alabarda’s Lalande and TwinTowersRacing’s Black Moon Concerto broke sharply and pulled away over the other two by about two lengths. It would be Black Moon Concerto getting credit for the lead here, as she had a neck on Lalande. Meanwhile, the eventual winner from Riggins Racing, Nine Laffs was content to run side by side with the Our Athletes- trained Toppifiant.

(½ Mile- :47.32)- Not much changes in the race over the second quarter mile, as it is still Black Moon Concerto being a neck in front of Lalande. We’d still see a two-length gap to the other two, as neither Nine Laffs or Toppifiant felt it was necessary to make a move at this time.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Making their way around the turn, Black Moon Concerto runs the way a 2/5 favorite should run and continues to hold the lead but approaching the stretch, things were beginning to tighten up. Lalande was still nearby to his outside but both Nine Laffs ansd Toppifiant had been closing in. Nine Laffs was looking especially interesting at that point, as she would swing to the outside and hope to carry this momentum into the stretch.

(Finish- 1:35.58)- With a furlong to go, they almost looked the same way you would expect to see out of the starting gate as they were three wide heads apart for the race lead with the fourth runner within a length. Of the two early leads, Lalande was showing more fight, but it would be Nine Laffs on the outside digging in and grabbing the win away in the final moments in what ends up being a three-way photo. She’d win by a head, but there would be no separating Toppifiant and Lalande, who end up in a dead heat. Black Moon Concerto was last, beaten by a length.

About The Winner- Nine Laffs, trained by Riggins Racing and ridden to victory by R M Hernandez, is a four-year-old filly by How To Laff and is out of Niner No Niner. She was bred in Ontario as a yearling by Serenity Stables and was acquired by Riggins Racing for $45.000 in a July 2023 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fourth in 10 starts, and her first stake win. Her career earnings are now $211.330.

Track: Fast
Time: :23³  :47¹  1:11¹  1:35²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 2 Paid 60.50, 3 – 4 Paid 14.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded