Seven Battle in El Dorado Stakes

After having at one point reeled off six straight wins to end 2012 and begin 2013, Drinking Fund has found success more elusive recently, with no wins in her last four starts, two of those in minor stakes. She’ll get a chance to get back on the winning side of things on Saturday, when she faces six other three-year-old and up fillies and mares racing a flat mile on the dirt in the $65,000 El Dorado Stakes at Delta Downs. Drinking Fund is one of four Louisiana-breds expected to go to the gate.

Drinking Fund has won a third of her starts

At age seven, Drinking Fund will be the oldest starter in the race, and has 13 wins lifetime in 37 starts, with five of those wins coming this year. She was second last time out in a $38,000 AOC event at Delta. In a race that could provide some value, second choice in the ML is another Louisiana-bred Sweettalkin’ Hottie, who has won three of her last six at the AOC level, but hasn’t been able to reproduce that result in stakes events. She was fourth last time in the Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Stakes at Fair Grounds.

Others hoping to step up to stakes wins

Also expected to contend is the 3-1 third choice in Forgotten People, who, like Sweettalkin’ Hottie, has not yet been able to translate allowance victory into stakes victory. Perhaps with an outside chance at the bottom of the ticket is a third Louisiana-bred in Sweet Ruston, listed at 12-1. Although with limited stakes experience in her 30-race career, she’s a competitive type who has hit the board in three of her last four, and has been in the money in 16 career starts overall, including seven wins, one coming this year.