Fair Grounds Handicap, Mineshaft in Asmussen's sights
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NEW ORLEANS – Trainer Steve Asmussen will be counting on serious money-makers in the two Grade 3, $150,000 races for older horses on the Louisiana Derby Preview Day card Saturday at Fair Grounds.
Daddy Nose Best, who has won five of his last six races and pushed his career earnings to $942,303, will be running for Asmussen as the highweight in the Fair Grounds Handicap on turf. Prayer for Relief, winner of $1,590,913, is Asmussen’s entrant and the highweight in the Mineshaft Handicap on dirt.
A 5-year-old son of Scat Daddy, Daddy Nose Best, who has won 9 of 24 career starts, is 2 for 2 on the local turf course. He ran away with the Diliberto Memorial by 3 1/2 lengths on Dec. 21 before launching an eye-catching stretch run to win the Grade 3 Col. E.R. Bradley Handicap on Jan. 18.
It was his first graded victory in 22 months, since he won the Sunland Derby to earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby in 2012. He had lost his last five starts as a 3-year-old and his first three starts at 4 before beginning his current run of strong form.[bc_video_id:316891:]
“So proud of Daddy, coming back and running so well after he went off form in his 3- and 4-year-old year,” Asmussen said. “Tremendous amount of pressure. He can go over a million dollars.”
Daddy Nose Best “got a great setup” in the Diliberto, Asmussen said. A fast pace played into the come-from-behind style of Daddy Nose Best. Asmussen said he thinks that Daddy Nose Best ran better in the Col. Bradley, because he had to rally from off a slow pace and was blocked behind horses. He won by a neck over Adios Nardo.
The first half-mile in the about 1 1/16-mile Col. Bradley was run in 51.02 seconds, and the six-furlong fraction was 1:15.58. Daddy Nose Best was at the back of a tight pack heading around the final turn. Rosie Napravnik, who will be aboard Saturday, swung him into the middle of the course in the stretch, and he kicked into overdrive in the final sixteenth.
[bc_video_id:316889:]The Fair Grounds Handicap, at about 1 1/8 miles, drew a nine-horse field, but scratches are likely if the race stays on turf. Ground Transport and $1 million winner Mister Marti Gras, who were entered in both the Fair Grounds Handicap and Mineshaft, are expected to run in Fair Grounds Handicap only if it’s switched to dirt.
Daddy Nose Best will carry 123 pounds. Next in the weights, at 118, is Potomac River, trained by Jose Camejo. Potomac River finished eighth in the Col. Bradley but defeated Daddy Nose Best when winning the Grade 3, 1 1/8-mile River City at Churchill Downs.
Mineshaft: Louisiana Handicap rematch
In the 1 1/16-mile Mineshaft, Prayer for Relief will carry 121 pounds, spotting four to seven pounds to eight rivals. Prayer for Relief, who won the Tenacious Handicap in his first start at the meet, is coming off a third-place finish, 1 1/4 lengths behind winner Fordubai, in the Louisiana Handicap on Jan. 18. Corey Nakatani will ride Prayer for Relief, who has won 8 of 26 starts.
Asmussen said that Prayer for Relief’s consistency – the horse typically doesn’t take a big step forward or drop off dramatically from race to race – is a reason that he has made so much money.
“He runs his race or close to it every time,” Asmussen said.
In the Louisiana Handicap, Fordubai, who is trained by Greg Geier, won by a length over Grand Contender, trained by Tom Amoss. Fordubai, who broke from post 1, saved ground along the rail much of the way while stalking pacesetter Grand Contender before rallying to the lead at the top of the stretch and holding on.
A different sort of trip appears necessary this time for Fordubai, who will break under Robby Albarado from post 9.
“There’s speed on the inside – Bradester, Ground Transport, Grand Contender – so it looks like there’s enough pace in the race,” Geier said. “Hopefully, they’ll be going a little bit faster for us. He’s a versatile horse. Hopefully, he’ll get a good spot.”
Bayou: Eden Prairie prepping
Nine older fillies and mares will be running in the $60,000 Bayou Handicap, a turf race at about 1 1/16 miles. Eden Prairie, a Neil Pessin trainee who won the Pago Hop and Marie Krantz in her last two starts, and Class Included, a Ron Faucheux trainee who won the Blushing K.D. the last time she raced on turf, are co-highweights at 120 pounds.
Pessin said he’s prepping Eden Prairie for the Grade 1 Madison, a seven-furlong race April 12 on the synthetic surface at Keeneland.
“I backed off her a little bit after the last race,” Pessin said. “She’s not dead-set-go like she was for the first two, but she’s still good enough to win.”
Trainer Larry Jones is running Calumet Farm mares Starstruck, who was third in the Marie Krantz, and Channel Lady, who was sixth. Both were coming back from a six-month layoff, and Jones said he’s pleased with how they’re going into this race.