Elliecat wins the Chou Croute Handicap, Lemony Cricket wins too!

What a great day it was when mean old Elliecat won the Chou Croute Handicap Saturday at the Fair Grounds. We have had Elliecat in our barn since April of 2007. Since then she has done very well with 3 wins and 3 seconds from 8 starts. At least she looks good in the form. Her bedside manner is not so good. During our 10 months with this filly she has earned the barn nickname, "EllieGATOR", attempting to savage grooms, hotwalkers, pony people, and yes, even me. She keeps us on our toes for sure. This mare is so wild she jumped on top of a hotwalker and actually scissor locked her front legs around the womans neck while biting her on the head all the way to the ground. Fortunately the hotwalker scrambled away from her into our office. We caught the whole attack on tape. Just recently she jumped on her groom in the shed row, again caught on tape and again without injury to the groom. In November she got me while I was on my pony and now 5 months later I still have top and bottom teeth mark scars on my shin.

Well putting up with all of her meanness paid off Saturday when her mean streak carried her wire to wire in the Chou Croute Handicap. Setting all the fractions and drawing off down the lane to hold on at the wire by a neck, Elliecat paid $159 bucks on a two dollar bet. The second biggest payout of the meet. Lonnie Meche happened to bring in both of them with his front running strategy.

Congratulations to James and Ywachetta Driver ! We love you guys and hope we have many great years together! (and if you can't find a place for that big trophy let me know).

On another good note our filly Lemony Cricket won the 7th race of the day, a $50,000 claiming race for fillies and mares, by 5 lengths, drawing off down the lane. That brought her up to 2 wins, 2 seconds and 3 thirds in 9 starts since Dallas Keen took over her training in May of 2007.

Lemony Cricket was purchased from a sale by the thoroughbred partnership of Ace Thoroughbreds, LLC and now has become the teams leading money earner with close to $80,000 in earnings.