Delta Downs: Ide Be Cool puts perfect record on the line in Pelican Stakes

Ide Be Cool has established himself as a rising star over the past six months by winning all five of his career races by a combined 25 lengths. He’ll put his perfect record on the line Saturday night, when he seeks his fourth consecutive stakes win in the $100,000 Pelican at Delta Downs.

The Pelican, for 3-year-olds bred in Louisiana, is a 7 1/2-furlong stakes run around two turns. A field of five will go, including Kapenta, who makes his stakes debut off back-to-back wins at Delta, and Angel Avenger, the runner-up to Ide Be Cool in the $125,000 Premier Night Prince on Feb. 1 at Delta.

Ide Be Cool has raced exclusively against Louisiana-breds. He made a winning debut last August in a maiden special weight sprint at Louisiana Downs, then won a first-level allowance at two turns at Delta Downs. Ide Be Cool then reeled off stakes wins in the $150,000 Louisiana Legacy at Delta on Nov. 23, the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile at Fair Grounds on Dec. 14, and the Premier Night Prince.

“He’s nice. I don’t think we’ve quite got to the bottom of him yet,” said Chris Rosier, who rides Ide Be Cool for owner and trainer Henry Ray Dunn.

Ide Be Cool was a seven-length winner of the Juvenile, earning a career-best 92 Beyer Speed Figure. He ran back to that performance in his most recent start, rolling to a front-running, nine-length win in the Prince, a seven-furlong race run around two turns, and earning a 91 Beyer.

“When they ran up to him, he kind of pricked his ears and kicked into a little bit higher cruising speed,” Rosier said. “He’s not one of them that gives up when one runs to him. He’s a fighter. He’s got a lot of heart to him.”

Rosier added that Ide Be Cool, a son of Ide and the Bowman’s Band mare Cool Climate, has a level of composure that belies his age.

“He’s like an older horse,” Rosier said. “He handles himself really cool. He lives up to his name.”

Ide Be Cool will break from post 5.

Angel Avenger is a winner at 7 1/2 furlongs at Delta, having taken a first-level allowance against open company Dec. 14. He went on to run fourth in the track’s $75,000 Big Drama Stakes before his runner-up finish in the Prince. Don Simington has the mount for trainer Jerry Cart.