Wave of Goodness wins the $100K Marie G. Krantz Memorial (Hodges Photography)
Fair Grounds Press Release
NEW ORLEANS— Hernandez Racing Stable’s Wave of Goodness avenged her narrow defeat in the Blushing K.D. to win Saturday’s $100,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial, holding off a late charge from Lake Lucerne at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
Trained by owner Armando Hernandez and ridden by Mitchell Murril, Wave of Goodness ran 1 1/16 miles over a firm turf course in 1:49.17 while defeating betting-favorite Lake Lucerne by 1/2 length.
The Florida shipper for Brendan Walsh, My Philly Twirl broke sharply and took the lead while maintaining several paths distance from the rail to set early fractions of 24.48 :50.30. Wave of Goodness tracked that runner to her inside, while Lake Lucerne settled towards the back. At the stretch call, Wave of Goodness made a bold move passing My Philly Twirl. Lake Lucerne began her usual outside bid but fell just shy of overtaking Wave of Goodness. My Philly Twirl hung on for third.
“The last time I rode her in the Blushing K.D., it had been a couple of months since she ran,” Mitchell Murril said, “but she ran a great second, so today I knew she would be pretty tough to beat. With her tactical speed, it definitely set up for us today.”
Claimed for $15,000 eleven months ago, this marked the first stakes win for Wave of Goodness in 25 career starts. Her record is 6-4-3 with $202,478 in the bank.
“We’ll wait to see how she comes out of this race,” Hernandez said. “She came out fairly well from the Blushing K.D. and that’s why we decided to come back for this race. She’s been improving and I look forward to continuing to compete against this level of stakes company.”
A generous $13.40, $5.00, and $3.40 rewarded Wave of Goodness’ backers. The $1.70-1 betting favorite Charlie’s Penny finished fourth. Carpe Vinum and Fancy Martini completed the order of finish
Wave of Goodness is a 5-year-old mare by Cairo Prince out of the Lonhro mare Mandalay Beach. She was bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm
