If it's Louisiana Champions Day, that means it's Touchuponastar (Star Guitar) day and the 5-year-old did not disappoint in winning the Champions Day Classic for the third consecutive season.
Drawn widest while facing four others, the gelding poked his head in front with a circuit to travel and lobbed them along through a half-mile in :49.48 while tracked along by Benoit (Closing Argument). Held together on the turn by Tim Thornton, he remained under a double hammerlock while opening at will into the final furlong and cruised home untouched. The paid workout–his 10th added-money success–took his career earnings past the $1-million threshold.
After making this contest his sixth victory from seven outings last season, Touchuponastar had added another pair of restricted stakes wins this season while finishing runner-up in the local GII New Orleans Classic in March and was just touched off in the GIII Steve Sexton Mile in May. In his lone try since, Touchuponastar was third in defense of his title in the Nov. 8 Delta Mile Stakes.
From the family of sires Sky Mesa and Bernstein, Touchuponastar has a yearling full-brother, a weanling half-sister by Maxfield–both foaled in Louisiana–and his dam was most recently covered by Flightline. Click for the Equibase.com chart.
LOUISIANA CHAMPIONS DAY CLASSIC S., $150,000, Fair Grounds, 12-14, (S), 3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:50.93, ft.
1–TOUCHUPONASTAR, 124, g, 5, Star Guitar–Touch Magic (SW
& GSP, $243,871), by Lion Heart. ($15,000 Ylg '20 TTAYHR).
O-Set-Hut LLC; B-Coteau Grove Farms LLC (LA); T-Jeff
Delhomme; J-Timothy Thornton. $90,000. Lifetime Record:
MGSP, 19-13-4-2, $1,022,900.
2–Benoit, 120, g, 4, Closing Argument–Katiebarthedoor, by
English Channel. O-Stacey Moak; B-Joseph Tosterud (LA); T-Joe
O Duhon. $30,000.
3–Cosmic Train, 124, g, 5, Klimt–Cosmic Emergency, by Any
Given Saturday. ($55,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $19,000 RNA 2yo '21
OBSAPR). O-Delanie J Calais Jr; B-Coteau Grove Farms LLC (LA);
T-Jerry Delhomme. $16,500.
Margins: 5 1/4, 8HF, 1. Odds: 0.20, 19.50, 4.10.
Also Ran: Tdzshininluckystar, Allnight Moonlight.
Congrats to @CoteauGrove the Delhommes and Timmy T on this amazing horse! 3 Champions Day Classics in a row!! @louisianabred @StarGuitarLA @LAHorseReporter https://t.co/yJfQzwLEXs
— Andrew Cary (@CaryBloodstock) December 14, 2024
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