New agent may help Graham maintain his early momentum

James Graham is a longshot to be leading rider at Fair Grounds when the calendar hits March 24, 2019, closing day of the Fair Grounds meet. But Dec. 1, 2018? That’s a different story.

Graham came into week 3 of the 2018-19 Fair Grounds season with a fine record of 12-14-10 from 51 mounts. Only two jockeys – Colby Hernandez with 54 mounts, Mitchell Murrill with 57 – have ridden more races at the meet, and no one has ridden more winners. Murrill, through racing on Nov. 25, had 10 winners.

Graham, a native of Finglas, Ireland, who turns 40 in May, is no stranger to the early-season Fair Grounds dynamic. He gets to New Orleans early for a reason – to beat the influx of riders based at Churchill Downs, which annually wraps up its fall racing season in late November, overlapping the start of Fair Grounds.

“It all changes this week when everyone gets to town,” Graham said.

Still, there’s no erasing two strong opening weeks. Graham came for the meet’s opening the last two seasons and entered December with six wins last year and seven in 2016.

“I’m grateful for whatever anyone is giving me right now,” he said. “I love my work. I enjoy what I do. Getting on horses, that’s the easy part and always has been for me.”

Graham was leading rider at Fair Grounds during the 2014-15 season, when he rode 106 winners. Early in 2016, his longtime agent and friend Britt McGehee died at 58 of cancer. It’s not wrong to say Graham’s career hasn’t been the same since McGehee got too sick to work.

The agent Frank Bernis had Graham’s book in Kentucky this summer and fall, but Bernis is wintering in Florida with Brian Hernandez Jr. The veteran and well-connected Louisiana agent Rick Mocklin now is booking Graham’s mounts. During these first two weeks, Mocklin has put Graham on a diverse passel of rides, from lower-level conditioned claimers to maiden special weights trained by Steve Asmussen, for whom Graham won two races. Graham gets a steady diet of chances for trainer Tom Amoss, and Amoss always wins races in New Orleans.

Last Fair Grounds meet, Graham would’ve won 61 races had he maintained his pace from the first two weeks; he wound up winning 33. A statistical correction is coming again, but it might not be as steep this time.

Stall tries to get motor running

Almost everything went right for trainer Al Stall in the early stages of the last two Fair Grounds meetings.

From the Nov. 18 start of the 2016-17 meet through Dec. 15, 2016, Stall’s record at Fair Grounds was 20-7-3-1. During the same period last year, his stable really crushed it, going 38-11-9-2. So far this season? Twenty-one starts, zero winners, eight seconds, and three thirds.

Almost everything has been going wrong: Poor post positions and poor starts have produced more failures than have strictly poor performances.

“Things definitely could go better – things you can’t control,” said Stall.

More chances are coming, both at Fair Grounds and farther afield.

In New Orleans, Stall has the talented but fragile Tom’s d’Etat on course to start in the $75,000 Tenacious Stakes on Dec. 16. Ability has never been in question regarding Tom’s d’Etat, but a month away from turning 6 he’s made only eight starts. During the summer of 2017, Tom’s d’Etat won a Saratoga allowance race by nine lengths, getting a 106 Beyer Speed Figure, and was pointed to the Woodward Stakes when he came up with an injury that kept him from racing again until this past Nov. 4. He won his comeback at Churchill, a high-level allowance race, by more than seven lengths and has been “doing great,” Stall said, since shipping to Fair Grounds.

Stall is readying the 3-yearold filly Minit to Stardom for the Dec. 8 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint, which would be her first start since she finished sixth at odds of 7-2 in the Grade 1 Test on Aug. 4 at Saratoga. Minit to Stardom “wasn’t out of training that long” and has been working sharply for her comeback.

Stall said he plans to send the 3-year-old colt Bobby’s Wicked One to the Grade 1, $300,000 Malibu Stakes, a seven-furlong age-restricted race Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. Bobby’s Wicked One was injured in the spring, finished second in a Keeneland allowance race making his comeback in October, and on Nov. 19 was second by a nose to Trigger Warning in a roughly run edition of the $250,000 Steel Valley Sprint. Trigger Warning later was euthanized as a result of injuries sustained in the race.

Finally, Stall reported that the fine sprinter Yockey’s Warrior, last seen winning the Duncan Kenner Stakes last January at Fair Grounds, has been retired and is standing stud in Louisiana. Six-year-old Yockey’s Warrior, by Warrior’s Reward, won 8 of 15 starts and more than $350,000. Stall was preparing him for the Count Fleet Stakes at Oaklawn last spring when Yockey’s Warrior “got a little thickening in his leg” that never subsided.

Smila’ssenseofsnow to Letellier

It’s been a good start to the Fair Grounds meet for trainer Hugh Robertson. Wynn Time made a successful return to the races, winning the Thanksgiving Handicap, and on Sunday the 2-year-old filly Smila’ssenseofsnow ran her record to 2 for 2 with a 1 1/2-length first-level allowance victory.

Smila’ssenseofsnow won her debut at Arlington in a race rained off turf and onto Polytrack, and Saturday’s race also was carded for grass before rain moved it to a sloppy main track. Smila’ssenseofsnow, a Trappe Shot filly Robertson owns himself, was forced into the lead by an inside draw and stayed on steadily to post a solid score. She got a 78 Beyer Speed Figure, up from 73 in her debut.

Robertson hopes Smila’ssenseofsnow might be able to stretch to two turns as a 3-yearold, but her immediate goal is the $50,000 Letellier Stakes over six furlongs on Dec. 16.

◗ The 2-year-old Rogueish served noticed he’s a colt to watch this winter with a 6 3/4-length sloppy-track debut win on Sunday. Steve Asmussen trains Rogueish, a son of Into Mischief whose performance produced an 84 Beyer Speed Figure.

◗ First post Friday, the first of a handful of night cards during the meet, is 5 p.m. Central.