Atreides favored over Vicar's in Trouble in Indiana Derby

In a normal year, Vicar’s in Trouble would be the star of the show in the Indiana Derby, and indeed, the winner of the Lecomte Stakes, Louisiana Derby, and Super Derby is a major attraction Saturday night at Indiana Grand in the Grade 2, $500,000 race.

But Vicar’s in Trouble was made the 2-1 morning-line second choice when a nine-horse field for the race was drawn Wednesday, while Atreides, who never has even started in a graded stakes, is the 6-5 morning-line favorite.

Such has been the impression made in three Gulfstream starts – all easy wins – by Atreides, a Stonestreet Farms homebred trained by Marty Wolfson. Atreides’s romps, including a 17 1/2-length romp in a minor stakes Aug. 30, have not escaped the attention of Vicar’s in Trouble’s trainer, Mike Maker. Asked what sort of post he hoped Vicar’s in Trouble would draw, Maker had a ready quip: “Obviously, I want 6 or 7 and Marty Wolfson in the 1 hole.”

Maker got neither wish, but Vicar’s in Trouble will break from outside Atreides, and for that, at least, Maker should be pleased. Vicar’s in Trouble, who will be ridden by Rosie Napravnik, drew post 4, while Atreides and Joel Rosario have post 3 for the 1 1/16-mile race on the main track at Indiana Grand.

The rest of the Indiana Derby field, from the inside out, is Cryptopirate, Saa Mi, East Hall, Quiet Ruler, C J’s Awesome, Just Call Kenny, and I Got It All.

Atreides, who makes his first two-turn start Saturday, was due in Thursday after flying from Wolfson’s base in south Florida. Vicar’s in Trouble ships by van from Kentucky on Friday. Wolfson has never started a horse at Indiana Grand and raced only once at Hoosier Park, which hosted the Indiana Derby through 2012 but now is strictly a harness-racing track. Maker has a string at Indiana Grand, where he has gone 21 for 62 at the meet, ranking fourth in the trainers’ standings.

The Grade 2, $200,000 Indiana Oaks tops the Derby undercard, which includes a pair of $100,000 races for older horses, the Schaefer and the Hulman George, as well as five Indiana-bred stakes. Maker has no Oaks starter, but Wolfson shipped a filly named Georgia, who has won both her dirt starts. Georgia is one of 11 Oaks entrants in a field topped by Unbridled Forever and Miss Besilu, both of whom drew somewhat poorly in posts 11 and 10.

First post for the 11-race card is set for 5:05 p.m. Eastern, with the Derby, race 10, carded for 9:30. The local forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and chilly temperatures.