How to bet the 2022 LaCombe Memorial Stakes

A total of 10 sophomore fillies will travel one mile on the Fair Grounds turf in Saturday’s $75,000 Allen Black Cat LaCombe Memorial S. I am not particularly fond of any of the morning-line choices in the wide-open affair, so I will take a shot with a contender who offers very good value.

Kelly Rubley’s #8 Cecilita (8-1) broke through in an off-the-turf run to commence her sophomore campaign, but she is better on the green and I came away impressed that she showed the versatility to graduate on a course that is not her preferred one.

Bred in the Bluegrass State, the daughter of Super Saver has shown no early interest to this stage of her development but does possess a fine turn of foot, which is even more pronounced on the green where she has earned Brisnet Late Pace figures of 101, 90, 104 in her trio of lawn tilts.

And she is bred to excel on the turf, as well, as she hails from the same female family as the brilliant Mizdirection, a two-time Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) heroine. Cecilita will trail the field early on before starting to pick off runners nearing the top of the lane with Orlando Mojica in the stirrups.

#9 New Year’s Eve (4-1) has rallied to victory in both of her lifetime engagements for trainer Brendan Walsh. The Kitten’s Joy chestnut has been next-to-last early in both of those races, only to overcome her lack of pace with a fine closing burst. Adam Beschizza will guide the obvious top-three threat.

Joe Sharp’s #7 Dreamworker (5-1) is two-for-two on the sod with both tallies coming at Fair Grounds. The pacey daughter of Animal Kingdom has handled both firm and good turf surfaces, and she will be a prominent figure from the start. Reylu Gutierrez inherits the mount atop the win contender, and the filly rates as the one to catch turning for home.

LaCombe Memorial Wagers

• $10 win and place #8 Cecilita ($20)
• $4 exacta key box 8 with 7, 9 ($16)
• $1 trifecta box 7, 8, 9 ($6)