Louisiana Derby: War Story tries to turn tables on International Star
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
NEW ORLEANS – The lack of mistakes made by International Star in the Lecomte and Risen Star stakes resulted in victories. Mistakes made by War Story in both those races cost him his best chance of winning. The margin between those two isn’t far off to begin with, and trainer Tom Amoss is hoping the work done with War Story in recent weeks will close the gap, even reverse it, when they meet for the third straight time in the Grade 2, $750,000 Louisiana Derby on Saturday here at Fair Grounds.
War Story has been a notorious slow starter. It is a problem that has plagued him throughout his four-race career, never more so than last time in the Risen Star.
“He went around everybody, International Star got through inside,” Amoss said earlier this week on a national teleconference. “A strong case can be made War Story ran the best race that day.”
Since then, Amoss and the local starting gate crew have schooled War Story in the gate with pads that Amoss said “confine the space, make it smaller.”
“He tends to rock back and forth,” Amoss said.
The significance of the start is important.
“If you don’t break well, the die is cast,” Amoss said. “If you break, with tactical speed, you have options.”
The Louisiana Derby is at the top of Amoss’s hit parade. He was born and raised here and has come close to winning the Louisiana Derby, but never has won it.
:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays
“Some kids dream of throwing the winning pass in the Super Bowl,” he said. “I dreamed of winning the Louisiana Derby.”
The Louisiana Derby, at 1 1/8 miles, drew nine runners, including the first four from the Risen Star – International Star, War Story, Keen Ice, and St. Joe Bay, in that order. Mr. Z ships in from Oaklawn, like War Story seeking to get an overdue win that has proven elusive in recent starts owing to his own antics. Blinkers come off for this race.
The Louisiana Derby offers 170 points overall, with 100 for first, which makes the race a Win and You’re In for the May 2 Kentucky Derby. It is the 11th race on 14-race card that begins at 12:30 p.m. Central and is not scheduled to conclude until nearly 7 p.m.
There are seven stakes preceding the Louisiana Derby, three of them Grade 2 races, most notably the Fair Grounds Oaks, headed by I’m a Chatterbox. That goes as race 9. The Mervin Muniz Memorial for older grass horses is race 8, and the New Orleans Handicap for older runners on dirt is race 10.
Louisiana Derby, race 11
KEY CONTENDERS
War Story (Last 3 Beyers: 91-86-86)
◗ The trip he had in the Risen Star wasn’t as adventurous as the trip he had preceding the race, when he was sent to a Oaklawn for the Southwest – a race whose point value was one-fifth that of the Risen Star – before being re-routed when the weather forecast for the Southwest was grim; it ended up being postponed a week.
Because of that adventure, War Story missed a work for the Risen Star and did not eat all his feed for a couple days upon returning from Oaklawn. That is worth factoring in when evaluating just how well he ran in the Risen Star.
International Star (Last 3 Beyers: 93-90-84)
◗ Landed the outside post in the field of nine, but had a similar draw last time and was able to get a ground-saving trip under Miguel Mena, with whom he is 2 for 2.
◗ His turn of foot has proven paramount in quickly getting through tight holes in his last two starts.
Mr. Z (Last 3 Beyers: 90-85-91)
◗ Truly an enigma, he is winless in nine starts since a debut win, but has kept good company, most notably a close third behind Dortmund and Firing Line in the Los Alamitos Futurity in December.
He tried to lug out badly in that race and practically bolted in his next start, the Smarty Jones. He had better behavior in the Southwest, in which he finished third.
“He could have won the Los Alamitos Futurity,” trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Thursday morning. “I think we’ve got all that straightened out.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Mr. Z. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas is 11-0-1-2 over the past five years when taking blinkers off. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Keen Ice (Last 3 Beyers: 88-88-76)
◗ Ran on well for third in the Risen Star in his first start here, obviously benefiting by racing at a track where his late-running style has a chance.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Keen Ice. Trainer Dale Romans is 51-3-5-8 with a $0.85 ROI over the past five years in dirt route Grade 1 stakes; he’s 40-0-2-8 with horses not named Shackleford. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
St. Joe Bay (Last 3 Beyers: 88-83-81)
◗ Ran a deceptively good race in the Risen Star, holding on for fourth after setting the pace in a race where late-runners took the first three spots.
Stanford (Last 3 Beyers: 95-92-59)
◗ Crossed the wire a distant second to highly regarded stablemate Materiality – who runs Saturday in the Florida Derby – in only his second start following a layoff. Like War Story, he has had trouble at the gate.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Stanford. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 26-10-4-4 with a $2.56 ROI over the past five years in dirt route graded stakes at Fair Grounds. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Defondo. Trainer Dallas Stewart is 49-1-6-6 with a $0.35 ROI over the past five years in dirt route graded stakes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan