Leparoux picks up Kentucky Derby mount on Helium

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Julien Leparoux has picked up the mount on Helium for the May 1 Kentucky Derby, trainer Mark Casse said Monday. Unbeaten in three career starts, Helium will run in the Derby off just one prep race as a 3-year-old, that being the March 6 Tampa Bay Derby.

Leparoux replaces Jose Ferrer, the 57-year-old veteran who guided Helium to his Tampa win. This will be the 13th time in the last 15 runnings that Leparoux has had a Derby mount, with his best finish coming aboard the Casse-trained Classic Empire, fourth in 2017.

Helium, owned by DJ Stable, had been scheduled to be flown Monday to Louisville from Ocala, Fla., along with another Derby-bound Casse trainee, Florida Derby runner-up Soup and Sandwich, owned by Live Oak Plantation. However, the flight was delayed until Tuesday, said Casse.

:: Bet horse racing on DRF Bets. Double Your First Deposit Up to $250. Join Now.

“I’d expect they’ll both breeze at Churchill sometime toward the end of this week,” said Casse.

Meanwhile, Casse said Beautiful Memories has been retired after the 3-year-old filly was eased in an opening-day allowance at Keeneland, thus ending one of the more bizarre racing careers of recent times. Beautiful Memories won her debut last May at Churchill by 10 lengths, then was eased as the favorite in both the Schuylerville and Spinaway at Saratoga. Her return Friday from a seven-month layoff was equally abysmal.

“She trained as good as a horse can train,” said Casse, “but something was going on in her mind that kept her from running in the afternoon the way she’s capable.”