The Forty Niner Handicap (Grade 3) ($250.000 Purse)
AQU- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
October 26, 2024

Since being moved back to the dirt at the start of the year, Louisiana Asset has only failed to finish somewhere in the top four and given that was in the Grade 1 Foster at CD. Outside of that, he has been cashing checks on a consistent basis, and that caught the attention of bettors as he would be the post time favorite. He was not one of our picks, as I probably held the Foster against him a lot more than I should have. Louisiana Asset now has eight wins, but none have been bigger than this one. Big Jd Racing is his trainer and F T Alvarado was aboard. For each, it is their first win in this race. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:33.08, the quickest of the three editions of the race run at AQU. Let’s take a look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :23.70)- Out front early, the D J C Racing Stables entry of Tacticus, and Luz International’s Stormy Sultan are side by side with Tacticus having a slight lead. Right behind them, our eventual winner from Big Jd Racing, Louisiana Asset is third and has TwinTowersRacing’s Investment Center running to his inside. Senor Vinagre Y Agua is next while running in the third lane for YME Stable, and the trailer is Settle The Score Vr (Luz International).

(½ Mile- :47.17)- Stormy Sultan is not content to run with Tacticus down the backstretch and will pull a full length ahead of him prior to entering the turn. Tacticus moves to the rail to run behind him and is a length ahead of both Investment Center and Louisiana Asset as the two of them continue to ride it out in the middle of the pack. Senor Vinagre Y Agua pulls in behind Louisiana Asset and Settle The Score Vr still trails.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- There’s no problem for Stormy Sultan, as he handles the turn very well and enters the top of the stretch by two lengths and will look to hold on all the way to the wire. There is, however, a problem for Tacticus, as the bottom fell out as the turn started and he quickly fades out of it. This leaves Louisiana Asset and Investment Center now side by side for second and seeming like the only threats to Stormy Sultan at this point. Senor Vinagre lost ground to those two in the turn and Settle The Score Vr wasn’t showing much.

(Finish- 1:33.08)- It looked like Stormy Sultan might hang on until the final furlong, but at that point, the closing rates of Louisiana Asset and Investment Center seemed too much for him. But which of those two would prevail? Louisiana Asset held a half-length advantage on Investment Center as they each made their push, and that would prove to be the difference at the end, as the Big Jd Racing entry gets his first graded win. Investment Center is a solid second with Stormy Sultan placing third. It’s a long way back to Senor Vinagre Y Agua for the fourth-place check, and then Settle The Score Vr and Tacticus.

About The Winner- Louisiana Asset, trained by Big Jd Racing and ridden to victory by F T Alvarado, is a five-year-old gelding by Asset Class, and is out of the late Ye Hateth Us. He was bred in Louisiana as a yearling by Allinthegate and was acquired by Big Jd Racing, via Luz International, in January 2023 with a $7.500 claim. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eighth in 32 starts, his third stake win and first graded win. His career earnings are now $511.920.

Track: Fast
Time: :23³  :47  1:10²  1:33⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 1 Paid 18.10
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 1 – 2 Paid 23.10

Scratched: Coco Candy

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES