Oeuvre and Jareth Loveberry aboard wins the 9th running of the $100,000 Nelson J. Menard Memorial. (Hodges Photography/Amanda Weir)
Equipment Change Aided in Victory says trainer Block
Fair Grounds Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, La. – An equipment change helped Richard Perkins’ Oeuvre run down a longshot to defend her title in the $100,000 Nelson J. Menard Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Saturday. Scheduled for the turf, the 5 1/2-furlong filly and mare contest was moved to the “fast” main track after Friday’s heavy rains.
Trained by Chris Block and piloted by Jareth Loveberry, the Illinois-bred 5-year-old beat six foes to the wire in 1:04.09.
“She’s a tough filly and battled all the way down the lane,” Loveberry said. “She’s all heart and proved again how good she is. She had something to point at (in the homestretch) and Chris Block had made a little (equipment) adjustment, which helped her a lot. I want to thank him and Mr. Perkins.”
Having demonstrated late-in-the-race antics bolting out in her last three starts, an equipment change kept Oeuvre on the straight and narrow to pull away by 1 1/2 lengths over the 36-1 front-runner Sweet Temperament.
“We put a bur on the outside of the bit,” Block said. “It’s a little rubber burr that sticks right there and if she tries to get out feels the pressure and brings her back in. I didn’t want to put a run-out blinker or anything drastic like that. I have no idea why she’s doing it. We made this little adjustment to see if it would make a difference and I think it did.”
As Oeuvre broke a touch slow, Sweet Temperament shot out to the lead, setting comfortable fractions of :22.90 and :45.88. Stalking to the outside of three foes through the turn, at the top of the stretch Oeuvre had her rivals lined up. When attempting to lug out down the lane, she was corrected and set down her run to prove best. A one-paced Carimba held on for third.
“(Oeuvre) is really something special,” Block said. “I knew when she came into the barn that she had a lot of talent, but I didn’t know she was going to do this. She can do anything you ask her to do. The two turns was something I really wanted to do, and I was really proud of her there (winning) at Keeneland. I’m honored Mr. Perkins decided to put her into our barn. My staff, Martin, Ray, and all the exercise boys who have been on her have done a great job. She can be a little bit tough. She’s a happy thing all the time but she’s always 100% on go.”
Made favorite in the market, Oeuvre offered backers $3.80, $2.80, $2.10. Sweet Temperament paid $23.20, $9.20. Carimba returned $2.40
“We were going to try to freshen (Oeuvre), but she didn’t want any part of that,” Block said. “We were thinking about the Blushing K.D. but we decided to go here, and it all worked out well. I would say we’d point towards (defending her title in the Mardi Gras Stakes), assuming she comes out of the race good and she’s acting like herself.”
Having swept the filly sprint series last year and now adding her second Menard, Oeuvre has a lifetime record of 24-15-3-3 and has stacked $773,706 in career earnings.
