High North on course for Super Derby

High North is headed due south.

The winner of the Iowa Derby, High North is now bound for Louisiana Downs and a start in the Grade 3, $300,000 Super Derby on Sept. 2.

“It’s a good race, a good purse, and it just seemed to fit his schedule well,” said trainer Brad Cox. “We’ve been targeting the race for a while.”

Cox won last year’s Super Derby with Mr. Misunderstood.

High North will be invading from Churchill Downs for Shortleaf Stable. Cox said Florent Geroux would have the mount. Geroux was aboard for the $250,000 Iowa Derby win July 6 at Prairie Meadows.

High North has raced once since, finishing third in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at 1 1/8 miles on Aug. 4 at Mountaineer.

“It may be a touch farther than he wants to go,” said Cox.

High North will be shortening up to 1 1/16 miles in the Super Derby. The race is back on dirt after a one-year turf experiment, while its distance has been adjusted from its most recent dirt running of 1 1/8 miles.

Entries for the Super Derby will be taken on Monday. There will be six additional stakes on the card, and Cox said the barn plans to have starters for some of those races. The Super Derby program will have a special first post of noon Central.