Coteau Grove Farms' homebred Little Miss Curlin dueled on the front end and drew away late to win the $100,000 Donovan L. Ferguson Memorial Stakes Nov. 21 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, giving freshman sire Charlatan his first black-type stakes winner.
The 6-furlong dirt stakes was for Louisiana-bred 2-year-old fillies. Little Miss Curlin improved her record to 2-for-2 following an impressive 4 1/4-length debut victory Oct. 22 at Delta Downs Racetrack.
Trained by Patrick Devereux Jr. and ridden by Jareth Loveberry Friday, Little Miss Curlin broke alertly from the 2 post and dueled through an opening quarter in :21.69. She was a head back through a half-mile in :46.09, then gradually asserted herself in the lane to win going away by 5 lengths. Her final time over the fast track was 1:11.45 and she paid $5.80 to win.
Little Miss Curlin is the third foal out of the grade 2-winning Curlin mare Mylady Curlin. Coteau Grove purchased Mylady Curlin, in foal to Charlatan, for $550,000 at the 2022 edition of Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale. Her first foal by Candy Ride is unraced, while her second foal Otomena Shacho, by Charlatan's sire Speightstown, was a $200,000 Keeneland September yearling and is a two-time winner in Japan.
Coming into Friday, Charlatan had 13 winners and ranked seventh in earnings among Northern American first-crop stallions. A multiple grade 1 winner at age 3, Charlatan stands at Hill 'n' Dale Farms near Paris, Ky. His stud fee has stood at $50,000 since he entered the breeding shed in 2022. Hill 'n' Dale has not yet set his 2026 fee.
