Hall of Fame, Track Phantom on target for Risen Star

Second in the 2022 Kentucky Derby with Epicenter, who wound up champion 3-year-old, and fourth in the 2023 Derby with Disarm, trainer Steve Asmussen saw favored Carbone finish seventh last weekend in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park, one of four Derby preps on Feb. 3. One place in front of Carbone came the Asmussen-trained Otto the Conqueror. But Asmussen, still seeking a Derby to add to a record-breaking Hall of Fame career, has stronger Triple Crown hopes set to race at Fair Grounds, where the maiden winner Hall of Fame and multiple stakes winner Track Phantom remain on course for a Feb. 17 start in the Risen Star Stakes.

The two colts approach the Risen Star on much different trajectories but breezed together Feb. 3 at Fair Grounds, going five furlongs in 1:01 with a solid gallop-out, Asmussen said.

“They have worked together before, quite a bit in the fall. Both of them are very kind, handle very well,” Asmussen said Monday.

Track Phantom debuted Oct. 1, finished second in a pair of maiden races, and since has won three in a row. He disputed a fast pace and was much the best Dec. 23 in the Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds, then set a moderate tempo and kicked home nicely with a decisive victory Jan. 20 in the Lecomte Stakes.

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Hall of Fame debuted Nov. 26 at Churchill, finishing second in a seven-furlong maiden race, and made his second start on the Lecomte card going a route of ground. Hall of Fame, coming through on the rail, got into a wicked speed battle from the half-mile pole to the five-sixteenths marker, but while the battering fractions sent his more experienced pace rival reeling, Hall of Fame continued willingly to win by 10 1/2 lengths. Off a much faster pace, he clocked a slightly faster 1 1/16-mile time than Track Phantom, earning a robust 94 Beyer Speed Figure. Track Phantom got a career-best 90 in the Lecomte; he is more experienced but probably no more talented than Hall of Fame, a $1.4 million yearling purchase.

“I do love how both of them are doing. I think they’re stronger now than when they last raced,” Asmussen said.

One more workout this weekend, lighter than the Feb. 3 move, and then both are on to the Risen Star, a 1 1/8-mile contest that’s the first 105-point qualifying race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Track Phantom already has 30 qualifying points, enough to get him into the Derby most years, and even a second-place finish from Hall of Fame might qualify him – two more chances for Asmussen’s first Derby.

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