Eagle, Mo Tom target New Orleans Handicap

Eagle, who was fourth Feb. 25 in the Mineshaft Handicap at Fair Grounds, and Mo Tom, who finished sixth in the same race, are likely to run April 1 in the New Orleans Handicap.

Both horses were making their first start after a long layoff. Eagle, 5, hadn’t run since July, while Mo Tom, a 4-year-old, hadn’t started since September.

“I was satisfied,” said Neil Howard, Eagle’s trainer. “I thought he ran good off the layoff. I think he did get a little tired but not exhausted, so hopefully it’ll serve him well, and we’ll just go on. You’d want to see next time a move forward.”

Mo Tom had a brief upper-stretch bid before fading in the final furlong and beating only one horse in the Mineshaft.

“I feel like I did a poor job of getting him ready, but he’s a different horse than last year,” said trainer Tom Amoss. “He carries a lot more weight, I used the methods I used last year with him, and he just got tired. He was exhausted after the race.”

◗ A first-level Louisiana-bred turf-route allowance, race 8, highlights Friday’s nine-race Fair Grounds program.