Consistent Strong Quality Faces 11 Turf Specialists In Fair Grounds Stakes

Gary Barber and Kinsman Stable’s Colonel Bradley Stakes winner Strong Quality returns to face 11 accomplished turf specialists that entered Saturday’s 38th running of the $175,000 Fair Grounds Stakes presented by Horse Racing Nation (G3).

Run at 1 1/8 miles on the Stall-Wilson Turf Course, the Fair Grounds Stakes will go as the 12th race with a post time of 5:19 p.m.. First post on the 14-race card is 12 p.m.

The gutsy Strong Quality recorded his first stakes victory in his 16-race career last month in the Colonel Bradley Stakes, holding off the late charge of fellow Fair Grounds Stakes rival Beatbox. Trained by Mark Casse, the 5-year-old Strong Quality has been the picture of consistency throughout his career with five victories, four seconds and three thirds with two wins coming at Fair Grounds. Jockey Florent Geroux, who has been in the saddle for his last four starts, will once again unite with the son of Quality Road from post 3.

The aforementioned Beatbox will try to turn the tables on Strong Quality from post 10 under Joel Rosario. Trained by Cherie DeVaux for Rob Comestro and Jeff Ganje, Beatbox will be in search of his first victory since Jan. 27, 2023 at Turfway Park. In the second-half of 2023, DeVaux shipped Beatbox to Fair Grounds where he sported three-consecutive runner-up efforts. Along with his second to Strong Quality in the Colonel Bradley, Beatbox finished second by one-length to Two Emmys in the Diliberto Memorial and finished two-lengths back of Rising Empire in a conditioned allowance contest.

 Here is the complete field for the Fair Grounds Stakes from the rail out (with jockey, trainer, and morning line):

1. Johny's Fireball (Ricardo Santana Jr., Norm Casse, 10/1); 
2. Chasing the Crown (Jareth Loveberry, Mike Maker, 8/1); 
3. Strong Quality (Florent Geroux, Mark Casse, 3/1); 
4. Rising Empire (Luis Saez, Brendan Walsh, 12/1); 
5. Palazzi (Tyler Gaffalione, Mark Casse, 15/1); 
6. Duke of Carthania (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., Yovani Munoz, 30/1); 
7. Money Supply (Gavin Ashton, Joe Sharp, 12/1); 
8. Camp Hope (Brian Hernandez Jr., Ken McPeek, 6/1); 
9. Harlan Estate (Declan Cannon, Whit Beckman, 12/1); 
10. Beatbox (Joel Rosario, Cherie DeVaux, 7/2); 
11. Gigante (Edgar Morales, Steve Asmussen, 8/1); 
12. English Tavern (Jaime Torres, Michelle Lovell, 15/1).