One Liner ran his perfect record to 3 for 3 in this, his stakes debut and first start around two turns in the Southwest Stakes at Oalawn Park. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure equal to that of Classic Empire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the fastest figs earned on the Derby trail to date.
When the dust settles after the Risen Star Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds, a lot more will be known about which horses were merely dressed up as Kentucky Derby hopefuls, and which had substance underneath.
Trainer Neil Howard takes a wait-and-see approach to considering the Kentucky Derby for his talented 3-year-olds, which this year include Lecomte winner Guest Suite. “You have to be careful not to go down a road you shouldn't go down.”
Epicharis, who won the Hyacinth Stakes last Sunday in Tokyo to move to the top of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby points list, has accepted an invitation to the United Arab Emirates Derby on March 25 at Meydan, the Japan Racing Association said on Thursday.
Local Hero comes into Saturday's Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds with only a victory over maidens last month and is considerably less accomplished than other members of this field. Yet I have no problem siding with him here, because if Local Hero duplicates his last performance, he will win right back.
Guest Suite, who won the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 21 in his 3-year-old debut, had his final Risen Star workout on Tuesday, going a half-mile in 48 seconds. On a damp, drizzly morning, trainer Neil Howard did not hesitate to work Guest Suite over a wet, sealed Fair Grounds surface.
Trainer Brad Cox is back in force for Saturday's Louisiana Derby Preview Day, with entrants in every one of the six stakes save the Rachel Alexandra.
Trainer Tony Dutrow paid a relatively small price for Mo Town, who went on to win the Remsen Stakes. Now Dutrow is hoping that Mo Town continues paying dividends when he makes his first start as a 3-year-old on Saturday in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds.
Kentucky Derby: Who's hot, who's not for Friday, Feb. 24
Practical Joke will make his first start as a 3-year-old in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on March 4, and Jose Ortiz will have the mount, trainer Chad Brown said Wednesday morning.
