Eyesa Just Pretty Earns First Stakes Victory in $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile (RG2)

Eyesa Just Pretty (#5), piloted by Edgar Mata, wins the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile [RG2] in a photo finish by a nose at Evangeline Downs on Saturday.

© Coady Photography

OPELOUSAS, LA - DECEMBER 16, 2023 – Eyesa Just Pretty held off a surging India de La Nieve to win the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile (RG2) by a nose on Saturday night at Evangeline.

Eyesa Just Pretty ($12.00) posted a final time of :17.665 and earned a 90 speed index in the 350-yard stake on Louisiana Champions night.

Edgar Mata was in the irons for trainer Janessa Muniz.

“She ran a really good race, after having a little bad luck in trials for the Million. I was proud of the way she handled the conditions tonight! This filly knows what she has to do,” said Muniz of the victory over a sloppy track.

The winning connections of Eyesa Just Pretty accept the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile [RG2] trophy at Evangeline Downs on Saturday. © Dustin Orona Photography/Lone Star Park

Eyesa Just Pretty earned the winner’s share of $45,000 and has now amassed $186,797 in eight career starts and three wins. She finished second in both the Mardi Gras Futurity (RG2) and the Lassie Futurity (RG2) and qualified to the Lee Berwick Futurity (RG1).

The Carters Cartel filly is owned by Blackmon Quarter Horses LLC and was bred by J. Adcock and Montgomery Equine. She is out of the Songandaprayer mare Eye Craft, a stakes-placed Thoroughbred who raced most of her career in Louisiana.

India de La Nieve earned her first placing in a stakes race as the runner-up on Saturday night. The daughter of Bp Wagon Train had previously run in just one stake, the Lassie Futurity (RG2), in which she finished fifth.

Juan Marquez had the riding call for trainer Guillermo Martinez and owner Rene Rodriguez. She was bred by Jose Vera and Claudia Sanchez, out of Chita Deniebe, by First Streakin Lee.

In seven starts, India de La Nieve has won three races and earned $77,082.

Kp Paintmeasymphony and jockey Rolando Cabrera were up for third for trainer Kenneth Roberts, Sr. and owner Penny Meyers; Roberts and Meyers also bred the 2-year-old gelding. The son of Paint Me Perry is out of Bittersweetsymphony, by Heza Fast Dash.

Kp Paintmeasymphony has two wins from nine starts with earnings of $57,227.

He qualified to the Laddie Futurity (RG2) in May and finished fifth in the final.

Completing the field were Cartel Roses Z, Tf Heza Streaker, Mp Adored, Last Freightrain, Apollitical Force, Hijack a Train and Prom Queen Nr.

Additional reporting by Martha Claussen.

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For more information on the American Quarter Horse season at Evangeline Downs, visit the track's website evdracing.com. Evangeline Downs' Twitter handle is @EVDRacing and the racetrack is also accessible on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EvangelineDownsRacing.

About Evangeline Downs
Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino and Hotel, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD), features exciting casino action, live horse racing and fun dining experiences. Evangeline Downs is in Opelousas, Louisiana, off I-49 on Cresswell Lane at Exit 18.