Ide Be Cool looks to atone for lone loss in Super Derby

Ide Be Cool will find himself in an unfamiliar position Saturday, when he starts in the Grade 2, $400,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs. He will be seeking a return to the win column after suffering his first defeat in eight career starts in last month’s local prep for the race, the $100,000 Prelude.

Ide Be Cool, the reigning Louisiana-bred Horse of the Year, is expected to be part of a large Super Derby field headed by graded stakes winners Vicar’s in Trouble and East Hall. Entries for the 1 1/8-mile race were to be taken Wednesday. The Super Derby is the richest race of the Louisiana Downs meet and will be supported by six other stakes races. Total purses for the stakes will be $900,000.

Ide Be Cool was the favorite for the 1 1/16-mile Prelude on the strength of seven straight wins heading into the race. He set the pace until the late stages and finished second to Alamo Heights. Ide Be Cool was beaten 1 1/4 lengths and, following the race, was found to have a gash on is left front ankle. Ray Dunn, the 73-year-old who owns and trains Ide Be Cool, took both developments in stride, knowing full well what he was up against in attempting to maintain perfection with Ide Be Cool.

“It’s going to happen eventually,” he said of losing. “It happened, and I think he had a good excuse that day. He caught a quarter coming out of the gate. It was a pretty bad injury and pretty deep, too. We got right on it, and it healed up real nice.”

Ide Be Cool was able to resume jogging nine days after sustaining the gash and breezed for the Super Derby on Aug. 22, going five furlongs in 1:02.80 at his home base of Louisiana Downs. Dunn said he is pleased with where he stands heading into the Super Derby.

“We got everything done we needed to get done,” the trainer said Tuesday. “I think he’ll be ready. He’s his same old self. He’s raring to go.”

Ide Be Cool launched his career last August at Louisiana Downs, winning a maiden special weight sprint. He stepped up his game when moving to two turns and has won three route stakes, all at Delta Downs, in a record that could have sent him chasing a prize like the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. But Dunn had other plans for Ide Be Cool.

“The Super Derby has been a goal,” he said. “That’s the reason we skipped the [Kentucky] Derby trail. We just wanted to try and capture this race here on our home court.”

Ide Be Cool is stabled at Louisiana Downs, and Dunn said being at his home track should work in his favor Saturday.

“He’s used to the humidity and the heat,” Dunn said. “We’ll walk him over, and I think he’ll bounce out of there and run his race. If he gets beat, he’s been beaten before. We’ve got that behind us.”

Dunn, who is from Lake Providence, La., has been enjoying the ride with Ide Be Cool. He purchased the horse privately as a yearling from breeder Gulf Haven Farms. Dunn was drawn to the horse’s size and good conformation.

“He’s just a natural, and I just was lucky that he came to me,” Dunn said. “He’s just kind of reviving an old man.”

Chris Rosier has the mount on Ide Be Cool.

◗ Broadway King will bring a strong last-race Beyer Speed Figure into Thursday’s featured fifth race at Louisiana Downs, a $10,000 optional claimer at a mile on turf. The horse popped a career-high 84 Beyer last out, when second at this same level Aug. 14. Broadway King has more natural speed than a number of his rivals and is a candidate to wire the field or perhaps track a runner to his immediate inside, Prime Cuvee. ◗ Richard Eramia has a commanding leading in the Louisiana Downs jockeys’ standings heading into the biggest week of the meet. He had 123 wins through Monday, 62 more than second-leading rider Rosier. Jonas Gibson holds a one-win advantage in the trainers’ standings over two-time defending champ Joey Foster. The meet runs through Sept. 21.