All comes together for Noble Indy in Louisiana Derby

NEW ORLEANS – A colt who’s still figuring it out, a jockey who has it all figured out, and a trainer who has the best record at maximizing value of 3-year-olds in the spring joined forces Saturday at Fair Grounds to win the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby, as Noble Indy, under John Velazquez, added to the lengthy scroll of Derby preps trainer Todd Pletcher has knocked off over the years.

Noble Indy, wearing blinkers after suffering his first defeat when finishing third here last month in the Risen Star, battled back bravely after being passed at midstretch to deny a storybook victory by Lone Sailor, whose co-owner, local sports magnate Tom Benson, died days ago.

Velazquez was able to get Noble Indy to re-rally when Lone Sailor dropped down near him, the end of an eventful journey that called on all of Velazquez’s skill to get an overeager Noble Indy to last the 1 1/8 miles.

And as for Pletcher, while his record in the Kentucky Derby is often picked apart, the fact is he has won the race twice – including last year in concert with Velazquez on Always Dreaming. He moves the chess pieces better than anyone this time of year, as is obvious by the long list of horses who might not be top-shelf Derby contenders come the first Saturday in May but who get to the race by having won lucrative preps.

Noble Indy continued a sensational spring for his breeder and co-owner, WinStar Farm, which already this prep season has annexed the Holy Bull with Audible and the Tampa Bay Derby with Quip, and which co-owns the exciting prospect Justify, headed next to the Arkansas Derby.

Noble Indy ($7.40), the favorite, was making only the fourth start of his career, and he’s “a work in progress,” Pletcher said by phone from Florida after the race.

“I liked that he improved from the Risen Star, had better temperament in the paddock and post parade,” Pletcher said. “He’s come a long ways, but there’s room for improvement.”

Noble Indy, starting from post 2 in the 10-horse field, let the longshot Marmello dash off to the lead through fractions of 22.97 seconds for the quarter and 46.64 seconds for the half. But Velazquez said while Noble Indy was “much better” than in the Risen Star, he was still “too keen on the backstretch," forcing Velazquez to try and reach a compromise between taking too big a hold and letting Noble Indy have his way.

Noble Indy seized the lead three furlongs out when Marmello began to fade, but then Lone Sailor launched a bid that carried him to the front a furlong out, and My Boy Jack made a wide, late run from last. Those three were right across the track in deep stretch, but Velazquez said Noble Indy surged anew along the rail when Lone Sailor, who was in the middle of that threesome, came closer to him in the final sixteenth.

Noble Indy won by a neck over Lone Sailor, with My Boy Jack another half-length back in third.

“He never noticed that horse until he started coming next to me,” said Velazquez, who added that Noble Indy is “very talented, very green.”

“It seemed like he was in jeopardy,” Pletcher said, “but once he saw that horse he fought back on.”

Noble Indy completed 1 1/8 miles on the fast main track in 1:50.28. The colt, a son of Take Charge Indy, now has three wins in four starts since beginning his career Dec. 3 with a maiden win at Gulfstream.

In addition to the first prize of $600,000, Noble Indy earned 100 points in the system used by Churchill Downs to determine the field for the May 5 Kentucky Derby, guaranteeing him a spot in the field.

The 40 points earned by Lone Sailor also should get him in, and the result thrilled his trainer, Tom Amoss, a New Orleans native who on Friday attended the funeral service for Benson, the owner of the NFL Saints and NBA Pelicans.

“Our boy really stepped up,” Amoss said of Lone Sailor. “I don’t want to get spiritual, but I really felt like Mr. Benson was with us today.”

Givemeaminit was fourth, and was followed, in order, by Snapper Sinclair, Hyndford, Retirement Fund, Bravazo, Dark Templar, and Marmello.

Bravazo won the Risen Star last month, but in this race he tried to get out a bit on the first turn, and was practically unmanageable on the far turn.

“I had my hands full,” said his jockey, Gary Stevens. “He was lugging out with me the entire trip and I had both hands on the inside rein.

“He was sound after the race, pulled up good, but he was mad,” Stevens said.