Freshened Scabbard will make seasonal debut in Lecomte

Scabbard will have his 2020 debut in the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds after shipping from the Palm Meadows training center in Florida to New Orleans on Wednesday.

Scabbard, trainer Eddie Kenneally said, is slated for a Fair Grounds workout either Jan. 11 or 12, depending on the weather.

Scabbard ran well below his best form in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where he finished fourth, beaten 7 3/4 lengths, after appearing to struggle with a tricky racing surface. Scabbard was off the bridle down the backstretch and merely slogged along in the Juvenile after sharp second-place finishes in the Saratoga Special and the Iroquois, where he was gaining late on the supremely talented Dennis’ Moment.

“Mike Smith rode him at Santa Anita and felt like he didn’t care for the track,” said Kenneally, who trains Scabbard for owner-breeder Joseph Sutton. “He never was real comfortable.”

Scabbard was turned out most of November with Barry Berkelhammer at AbraCadabra Farms near Ocala, Fla., before rejoining Kenneally’s string at Palm Meadows.

“He’s done well since the Breeders’ Cup, had a few good works at Palm Meadows,” Kenneally said. “Corey Lanerie is going to ride him. He knows him pretty well.”

Others expected for the 1 1/16-mile Lecomte, which offers Kentucky Derby qualifying points, are Finnick the Fierce, who was third in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, and Enforceable, fourth in the same race, as well as Bango, Excession, Halo Again, Jack the Umpire, Lynn’s Map, Mr. Monomoy, Perfect Star, Shashashakemeup, Silver State, and Sycamore Run.