Jackson wastes very little time in Texas debut

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Until last month, trainer Bruce Jackson had never started a horse in Texas. He has a good record in the surrounding region, though, winning the Oaklawn Handicap, the Explosive Bid Handicap at Fair Grounds, and the Temperence Hill at Louisiana Downs.

Jackson got off to a rousing start in Texas on April 22 with the string of horses he has brought to Lone Star Park. He finished second by a neck with his first starter, Savonarola, in the $40,000 Littlebitlively at five furlongs on turf, and two races later won an entry-level turf allowance with Wanted Man ($8.40).

Jackson's third starter at the meet, Duc d'Orleans, looked to be a strong favorite in the fifth race Saturday, and on Sunday he had the top choice in the seventh race, Weeping Willow.

"We came here to just check it out," said Jackson. "If they get the slot machines, then we've got a foot in the door, kind of."

Jackson has brought 15 horses in from Southern California for the meet, six of which were purchased privately from Darley.

"We've got some decent horses here," he said. "They're useful horses."

Jackson has not made next-race plans for Savonarola, a recent purchase, but said he would look at some of the Lone Star stakes the horse is eligible for, among them the $100,000 Beck Auto Group Turf Sprint on May 30.

"We'll play it by ear," said Jackson. "They've run him anywhere from five and a half to a mile. I'm just getting to feel my way through him."

Jackson trained Temperence Hill winner In Excess, who earned $1.7 million during his career and now ranks as one of the dominant stallions in California. Jackson's win in the Oaklawn Handicap came in 1993 with Jovial. He won the Explosive Bid in 1999 with Lord Smith.

Jackson, a native of California, has a brother who lives about 25 miles from Lone Star.

Prince T. points to Lone Star Derby

Prince T., who finished second in the $75,000 Northern Spur Breeders' Cup at Oaklawn in his last start April 16, is being pointed for the Grade 3, $300,000 Walmac Lone Star Derby on May 14.

"That's our direction right now if everything works out," said Andrew Leggio Jr., who trains Prince T. for Rancha Fresa.

Prince T. won his maiden in his two-turn debut in December, and in his first start against winners was third to Crimson Stag in the $75,000 Crescent City Derby for Louisiana-breds. One start later, Prince T. won a two-turn allowance on dirt, then the $100,000 Gentilly Handicap on turf, a race restricted to Louisiana-breds at Fair Grounds.

Prince T. went on to finish second in the Northern Spur under Jeremy Rose. He is a son of Royal Anthem and is out of the mare Confident Writer, making him a half-brother to Fresa, a six-time stakes winner who earned $427,633.

Babies in spotlight at Lone Star

There are two races for 2-year-olds on the Lone Star card on Sunday. One of them, the third, is a maiden special weight restricted to horses bred in Texas.

Among the horses in the field of the $26,000 race are Sweet Will, a son of Valid Expectations, for trainer Steve Asmussen, and Meg's Wild One, a son of Wild Zone, for trainer Danny Pish.

The other race on the card for 2-year-olds is the first, a maiden claimer. Both races will be run at 4 1/2 furlongs.

* Devout Sinner, a multiple stakes winner who won the first two races of her career at Lone Star Park in 2001, has had a colt by Military, said Joan Charlton, who trained the mare. Devout Sinner is scheduled to be bred back to two-time Breeders' Cup Classic winner Tiznow.

Devout Sinner was a four-time stakes winner and the first filly to race in the Grade 3, $300,000 Oklahoma Derby, a race in which she finished fourth. An earner of $241,740, she raced for Charlton and Doug Wall.