After more than a year off, Avery Island starts over

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A full account of the 2018 Louisiana Derby would have to include a footnote: Avery Island might well have been the favorite but was withheld because of a knee injury that eventually led to a layoff of more than a year.

On the eve of the 2019 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds, the long-awaited return of Avery Island will take place some 850 miles away at Gulfstream Park, where the two-time graded stakes winner will face nine other older horses in the ninth of 10 Friday races.

“He came out of a work a couple of weeks before the Louisiana Derby a little off,” recalled Kiaran McLaughlin, who trains the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred for owner-breeder Godolphin.

“It was pretty complicated, but the bottom line is we think he hyperextended the knee in that last work. It never required surgery. He went home to the farm, and we gave him the time he needed. It actually took a little more time than we originally thought, but here we are. We’re really excited to have him back.”

With Joe Bravo to ride, Avery Island will break from post 5 in a $52,000 allowance going a one-turn mile. The race conditions are multi-faceted, with Avery Island being eligible by not having won since Sept. 30.

Avery Island “probably wants to go a little farther than a mile, but he’s ready to go and this is a good spot to start,” McLaughlin said. “We’d like to run him back in something like the Alysheba, but let’s see how he does here first. This race looks a little tougher than a normal two-other-than because of the extra conditions, so it’ll be a good test.”

The Alysheba will be run on the May 3 Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs.

Avery Island came to prominence in New York in the fall of 2017, winning a maiden race at Belmont in his second start before capturing the Grade 2 Nashua at Aqueduct. After finishing second to Catholic Boy in the Grade 2 Remsen, he won his lone start as a 3-year-old, the Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct in February 2018, before incurring the injury at the Palm Meadows training center in Florida.

Since Dec. 31, Avery Island has been on a regular work schedule at Palm Meadows in preparation for his comeback, with his final prep being a five-furlong breeze last Friday in a bullet 1:01.60.

If Avery Island is to be upset, the most likely candidates are Diamond King and War Giant.

Diamond King (post 2, Jose Ortiz to ride) will make his first start since finishing third in a tight three-way photo in the Oklahoma Derby in late September at Remington Park. Trained by John Servis, the 4-year-old Quality Road colt has won two stakes, both at Laurel Park – the Heft at 2 and the Federico Tesio at 3.

War Giant (post 3, Emisael Jaramillo) is something of a wild card, having flashed huge speed here last spring and summer when dominating three straight races, the last a romp in the Carry Back with a 94 Beyer Speed Figure. Trained by Oscar Gonzalez, he has had just one start since that June 30 race, finishing 22 1/2 lengths back in the Gallant Bob in September.

Other considerations in a deep lineup include Noble Drama, winner of two Florida-bred stakes; He’s Bankable, going turf to dirt with John Velazquez riding for Mark Casse; Realm, winner of the restricted Alydar last summer at Saratoga; and Hy Kodiak Warrior, who retains leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. off a solid last race.

First post Friday is 1:15 p.m. Eastern, with the feature going at 5:38. It’s part of a 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence that spans races 5-10. Into Wednesday action, the Rainbow 6 jackpot stood at more than $1.9 million.