Lonnie Meche lands first BC mount

This year keeps getting better for jockey Lonnie Meche. He has dominated the standings at Louisiana Downs since May, and Friday night earned his first Breeders' Cup mount by guiding Enduring Will to a 10-length win in the $100,000 Silver Spur Breeders' Cup at Lone Star Park.

Enduring Will is now being pointed for the $1 million Juvenile Fillies, which will be run at Lone Star on Oct. 30.

"Her post-race condition is excellent, and we're going to pre-enter her," said Al Stall Jr., who trains Enduring Will for Michael Rainier.

She made her two-turn debut in the Silver Spur.

"She's a racehorse," said Meche. "I can actually compare her with Blushing K.D. because she does everything that K.D. would do. She's easy to rate, she has tactical speed if I need it, and she's got a stride on her."

Blushing K.D. gave Meche one of his most notable career wins when she captured the Kentucky Oaks in 1997. Meche won the Louisiana Downs title that year with 116 wins, a record he has broken this meet.

"It was a four-month meet in 1997, and I won 116 races," he said. "I was able to accomplish that in a little over three months this meet."

Meche has won 136 races at Louisiana Downs to lead the standings by 35 wins over second-leading rider John Jacinto. Meche also leads all riders in mount earnings with $1,965,133 through Tuesday.

Some of Meche's notable mounts have included the undefeated 3-year-old filly Happy Ticket, whom he has guided to four wins, including two stakes; Ready to Live, with whom he won the $50,000 Rebel; and Setemup Joe, whose last four wins have come under Meche.

Meche, who turns 30 on Sunday, is the twin brother of Donnie Meche, a jockey who is also based at Lone Star.

Lonnie Meche's biggest win at Louisiana Downs came aboard Outofthebox in the 2001 Super Derby. That year the race was a Grade 1.

Lonnie Meche's supporters at the current meet include Morris Nicks, with whom he has combined to win at a 52 percent rate, and Stall, who has a 29 percent win rate with Meche at Louisiana Downs.

"I've known Lonnie since he came around," said Stall. "He and his brother are typical Cajun riders in that they've been on horseback their whole lives. You combine that with talent, and here they are."

Meche can widen his lead in the Louisiana Downs standings on Thursday. He is named on both halves of a Howard Scarberry-trained entry in the featured seventh, a 7 1/2-furlong turf race for fillies and mares.

Due to Win comes into Thursday's allowance race, which has a purse of $22,000, following a win in the $50,000 Matron Handicap at Evangeline Downs, while her entrymate, Baileys Affair, was second in a seven-furlong allowance at Louisiana Downs on Sept. 17.

Following the meet, Meche will ride at Fair Grounds. He said that next year he might also compete at Oaklawn.