Fair Grounds: Louies Flower will try to regroup in Louisiana Derby

NEW ORLEANS – Louies Flower won three straight races at Remington Park last year, then headed to Oaklawn Park, where he was purposely kept out of the Smarty Jones Stakes in January to await the Southwest Stakes on Feb. 17. His trainer, Bret Calhoun, now thinks that was a major mistake and believes that Louies Flower, who ran last in the Southwest, can improve when he starts in the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby on Saturday at Fair Grounds.

“With the bad weather, his training was disrupted, and he got way over the top, way too fresh and sharp,” Calhoun said Wednesday at Fair Grounds. “He tried to run off. And he bled.”

Louies Flower, who has used Lasix in all of his races, finished last of 12 in the Southwest. According to Calhoun, Louies Flower has come back to work well, but he concedes that the Louisiana Derby “is a tough spot to try and regroup.”

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

He drew well Wednesday, landing post 3 of 10 in the 1 1/8-mile race.

Louies Flower, a son of Flower Alley, scored the richest win of his career when pulling off a 23-1 surprise in the Springboard Mile at Remington last Dec. 15. He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 91 that day.