Eagle primed to peak in New Orleans Handicap

NEW ORLEANS – In the Louisiana Stakes in January, Eagle finished a solid second, 1 1/4 lengths behind International Star.

In the Grade 3 Mineshaft in February, Eagle rallied strongly to finish a closer second, a head behind gritty front-runner Majestic Harbor.

“Each race was a little bit of a progression,” said Neil Howard, who trains Eagle, a 4-year-old Will Farish homebred.

Howard is hopeful that on Saturday in the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap, Fair Grounds’s most significant race for older horses, Eagle will be ready to take another step forward and earn his first graded stakes victory.

The 2-1 morning-line favorite, Eagle will be facing International Star and Majestic Harbor again in that $400,000 race for 4-year-olds and up. Those three horses look like the most logical contenders among 10 entrants, including five graded stakes winners. The distance is 1 1/8 miles, one-sixteenth of a mile longer than the two preps.

The field might shrink. Trainer Pat Devereux has a softer option Saturday for Stormdriver, 20-1 on the morning line. He’s also entered for the Star Guitar against Louisiana-breds and is 7-2 for that race.

Eagle started his Fair Grounds meet in December with a 1 1/4-length victory over Freestyler in the Tenacious. Though Eagle lost in the Louisiana Stakes, Howard said the colt showed improvement in that race. In the Mineshaft, Eagle put out “a winning effort,” Howard said. “He ran great. Majestic Harbor is a hell of a horse, no question about it.”

Breaking from post 10 on Saturday, Eagle might get a stalking trip. Coup de Grace, a two-time graded winner in sprints, is likely to show early speed. Other possible stalkers are Majestic Harbor and Jessica’s Star.

Key Contenders

Eagle, by Candy Ride

Last 3 Beyers: 99-97-97

◗ Eagle will be trying 1 1/8 miles for the first time. “It should suit him from all angles – pedigree-wise, running style-wise,” Howard said.

◗ Howard won the New Orleans Handicap with Parade Leader in 2002 and Mineshaft, Eagle’s maternal grandsire, in 2003.

International Star, by Fusaichi Pegasus

Last 3 Beyers: 93-100-69

◗ After showing a brilliant turn of foot to win the Louisiana Stakes, International Star never threatened when finishing fourth in the Mineshaft, 4 1/4 lengths behind Majestic Harbor.

“It would have been nice to have a stronger pace,” said Mike Maker, who trains International Star. “We might get it this time.”

◗ In the Mineshaft, the unpressured pacesetter Majestic Harbor ran the first half-mile in 48.09 seconds and six furlongs in 1:12.30. The corresponding splits for the Risen Star that day were 46.38 and 1:11.33.

◗ International Star is 4 for 5 at Fair Grounds. Last year, he swept the graded stakes here for 3-year-olds – the Lecomte, Risen Star, and 1 1/8-mile Louisiana Derby.

Majestic Harbor, by Rockport Harbor

Last 3 Beyers: 99-77-92

◗ His Mineshaft victory, his third win in graded company, came as an 8-year-old, and trainer Paul McGee said the horse appears to have maintained his sharp form.

“He’s doing very well going into the race,’’ McGee said.

◗ Majestic Harbor has shown that he can handle this distance or even longer races. His other graded wins came in 2014 at Santa Anita in the 1 1/2-mile, Grade 3 Tokyo City Stakes and the 1 1/4-mile, Grade 1 Gold Cup.

◗ He would surpass $1 million in career earnings by finishing in the top four.

Mobile Bay, by Lone Star Special

Last 3 Beyers: 88-87-88

◗ This late-running Louisiana-bred, trained by Victor Arceneaux, won the Grade 2 Super Derby last year. He’s coming off a win by a neck over graded winner Jessica’s Star (another New Orleans Handicap entrant) at this distance in the Maxxam Gold Cup at Sam Houston.

◗ At Fair Grounds, Mobile Bay is 1 for 4, all in statebred company.