Avery Island drills five furlongs in Louisiana Derby prep

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Avery Island, impressive winner of the Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct in his 3-year-old debut, continued Friday toward his next objective, the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds, by working five furlongs in 1:01.20 at the Palm Meadows training center.

“He worked very well and galloped-out strong,” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who witnessed the work instead of accompanying his other top Kentucky Derby prospect, Enticed, to New York for Saturday’s Grade 3 Gotham.

McLaughlin said Avery Island worked solo, as usual, on Friday.

“He always works by himself,” McLaughlin said. “He can get a little keen when he gets in company. He just seems like he’s gotten better with every work, from his 2-year-old season and now at 3. He’s a big, strong colt with a long stride who is great mentally and just keeps improving all the time.”

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McLaughlin said Avery Island would have one more work locally before shipping to New Orleans for the Louisiana Derby, to be run on March 24.

McLaughlin also breezed his emerging turf star Lucullan over the inner course at Palm Meadows on Friday. Lucullan, a son of Hard Spun owned by Godolphin, launched his 4-year-old campaign with a three-length second-level optional-claiming victory here Feb. 11, earning a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He worked well today,” McLaughlin said. “He really ran big the last time. I just haven’t decided when or where we might run him next.”

McLaughlin has decided that he will bring Take Charge Paula back on March 31, Florida Derby Day, in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks. Take Charge Paula, winner of the Grade 3 Forward Gal earlier in the meet, had her three-race win streak snapped when second behind the odds-on Fly So High in last Saturday’s Grade 2 Davona Dale.

“It was a strange race,” McLaughlin said. “My filly broke well, made the lead, dropped back while out in the middle of the track and easily could have packed it in at the three-eighths pole and finished fifth. Instead she came back to be second, and I was very proud of her for that. She was definitely second-best behind the winner any way you look at it, but with that filly out of the Oaks, it makes sense to put ours back in there.”

Fly So High suffered a minor suspensory injury in the Davona Dale and will be sidelined indefinitely.

Another prominent 3-year-old on Friday’s work tab at Palm Meadows was the undefeated Mask, who breezed three furlongs in 36.20 in his first work since Jan. 20 and second since registering an eye-catching 6 1/4-length victory Jan. 6 in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man. Mask has been taken out of consideration for the Kentucky Derby by trainer Chad Brown.