Asmussen puts finishing touches on Finite, Silver State

NEW ORLEANS – The Fair Grounds track apron nearly was deserted for the first couple sets of horses Monday morning, but one trainer, Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, was down on the fence with his stopwatch.

Among several Asmussen horses to work were his starters for important stakes here this Saturday – Finite, who runs in the Rachel Alexandra, and Silver State, who’s part of the first division of the Risen Star Stakes.

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Finite worked a half-mile in 49.80 seconds, and about 20 minutes later Silver State went a half in 50.20. Both horses worked solo, and Asmussen, as is nearly always the case, wasn’t looking for anything special from either one of them five days away from a start.

Even had he wanted a flashy work from Finite, the filly almost certainly wouldn’t have given it to him. Finite has won the Grade 2 Golden Rod at Churchill and the $148,000 Silverbulletday here in her two most recent starts, but this is a horse who gets by on grit and grind. She’s never opened anyone’s eyes in the morning, Asmussen said, but has shown a strong desire to compete in the afternoon. British Idiom will be favored to win the Rachel Alexandra, but be sure that Finite won’t go down without a fight.

While Finite already has become a professional racehorse, Silver State still is figuring stuff out. His stakes debut in the Lecomte here last month produced a troubled-trip second, and there almost certainly is more to come from this strapping son of Hard Spun.

“With him, it’s all about how big he is,” Asmussen said. “The bigger they are, generally the longer it takes for them.”

Silver State is one of 11 entered in the Risen Star’s first division, which includes Lecomte winner Enforceable as well as Mr. Monomoy, who was a foot behind Silver State in the same race.

Anneau d’Or tops the 12 entrants in the Risen Star’s second division, the last race on an excellent 13-race card here.