Fair Grounds: Rise Up sharpens speed ahead of Louisiana Derby

On Tuesday, trainer Tom Amoss sent Delta Jackpot winner Rise Up out to work a bullet five furlongs in 1:00. It was Rise Up’s second work since he finished seventh in the Feb. 22 Risen Star Stakes, his 3-year-old debut.

Rise Up, a front-running horse, basically lost all chance at the start when he broke very poorly and had to rush into contention around the first turn. Rise Up has worn blinkers in both post-Risen Star works, and Amoss said he plans to employ the equipment March 29 in the Louisiana Derby.

“I just want to enhance his speed,” Amoss said. “I’m not going to fight the issue. I want him to use his natural speed there and we’ll see what happens.”

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

Plans for Delaunay, Amoss said, are up in the air after his runner-up finish in the Duncan Kenner on Saturday.

“I honestly don’t know what’s next, but I do know we’re done down here,” said Amoss. “We’ll get him up to Kentucky and see what to do there.”

Delaunay easily won the Kenner in 2013 and went on to a similarly sharp victory in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Handicap on May 4.

Amoss’s second crack sprinter Sum of the Parts will be back in action Saturday at Fair Grounds when he starts in the Colonel Power Stakes, a turf sprint. And Amoss still is holding out hope that Mylute, who was third in the Preakness but hasn’t raced since finishing eighth in the July 27 Jim Dandy Stakes, might be ready in time to contest the New Orleans Handicap on March 29. Mylute worked seven furlongs on March 8 in 1:28.80.

“We’re going to do everything we can to have him ready by the end of the month,” said Amoss.