Delta Downs: Hit the Road Lee's fondness for track stands out in B-Connected

Hit the Road Lee’s runner-up finish to Sunbean last month is enough to make him the favorite in Saturday night’s $70,000 B-Connected at Delta Downs. But he has even more going for him heading into the one-mile race restricted to Louisiana-breds who have not won a stakes.
The B-Connected, for 4-year-olds and up, drew a field of 10.

Hit the Road Lee ran into Sunbean last out in the $200,000 Louisiana Premier Night Championship at Delta on Feb. 1. He set the pace and finished four lengths behind Sunbean, the dominant older Louisiana-bred who has since won another stakes, the Star Guitar at Fair Grounds with a Beyer Speed Figure of 97.

As for Hit the Road Lee, he is arguably the most accomplished member of a strong B-Connected field. He leads all starters in earnings, with $349,100, and is the race’s horse-for-course with an 8-for-19 record at Delta. Hit the Road Lee also has won a pair of starter stakes, the $70,000 Premier Night Gentleman and the $50,000 Freemont, both last meet at Delta.

Keith Bourgeois trains Hit the Road Lee. Emanuel Nieves has the mount from post 3.

Awesome Bandit is seeking his third straight win. He has been flattered since his victory in last month’s Premier Night Gentleman, with the sixth- and ninth-place finishers both coming back to win optional claimers, with respective Beyer Speed Figures of 75 and 76.

The owner-trainer team of Maggi Moss and Tom Amoss has two starters that race as separate interests, Pioneering Native and One King’s Man