The death earlier this week of Khalid Abdullah, master of Juddmonte Farms, reverberated through the racing world, and Juddmonte’s long, powerful reach extends to New Orleans on Saturday. Mandaloun, a Juddmonte homebred, makes his stakes and two-turn debut in the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte, the last of 13 races, six of them stakes, on a blockbuster Fair Grounds program. Short on accomplishment, Mandaloun looks very long on promise. This card is billed “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day” and trainer Brad Cox hopes the moniker accurately describes Mandaloun’s 2021 campaign. “As far as colts, I think he’s one of the better 3-year-olds we’ve had,” said Cox. Juddmonte, Cox, and jockey Florent Geroux also have the favorite in Sun Path for the $150,000 Silverbulletday for 3-year-old fillies. A Juddmonte homebred named Fulsome runs earlier on the card with a strong chance to clear the maiden ranks in a nine-furlong turf contest. The program, which has an early noon first post, is rife with loaded maiden races and includes a first-level dirt-route allowance for 3-year-olds that ought to yield a runner or two for the Risen Star Stakes next month. As an early stop along Churchill Downs’ Road to the Kentucky Derby, the 1 1/16-mile Lecomte is worth 17 Derby qualifying points distributed 10-4-2-1 to the top finishers. :: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more. Mandaloun is by Into Mischief out of the Empire Maker mare Brooch, and comes into the Lecomte with a maiden win over six furlongs at Keeneland and a first-level allowance score going seven furlongs at Churchill. Mandaloun’s Beyer Speed Figure improved from 75 in his debut to 82 last time, but the Keeneland start required Mandaloun to overcome a ridiculously eventful trip from the quarter pole to the finish. The Churchill start was more straightforward, and neither sprint gave Mandaloun a chance to really sparkle, Cox believes. “I do really think my horse is going to be a lot better around two turns,” he said. “Since we started working him, he was cut out and built to be a two-turn horse. This is what we’ve wanted to do with him, but he’s got to step up again. He’s a green horse, still has a lot of growing up to do mentally.” Mandaloun is listed as a tepid 3-1 morning-line favorite, but the hype train carrying this colt is moving fast and his price figures to drop accordingly. Mandaloun drew post 10 but probably will move in two slots with Beep Beep and Manor House expected to opt for the Saturday allowance race instead. Dyn O Mite, drawn in post 11, will be scratched, said trainer Keith Desormeaux, who does intend to start Churchill maiden winner Santa Cruiser. Midnight Bourbon could be the Lecomte second choice on the strength of solid 2-year-old form. His 2020 season ended with a second-place finish in the one-turn-mile Iroquois in September at Churchill, where he took a lead at the stretch call only to be run down late, and a distant third in the Grade 1 Champagne, a one-turn mile in October at Belmont won in a romp by his Steve Asmussen-trained stablemate Jackie’s Warrior. Whatever Midnight Bourbon showed at 2 should give way, Asmussen believes, to a stronger, more confident and mature colt this year. “He’s a very big horse,” Asmussen said. “All indications are he’ll be better as a 3-year-old.” Arabian Prince, from sire Mshawish’s first crop, showed promise during a three-start 2020 campaign, providing a rare debut win for the patient Dallas Stewart barn and ending his year with a solid third in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. Arabian Prince lacked speed in his races last year and will drop toward the rear of the field Saturday, Stewart said. This is a colt who could improve as distances lengthen through the winter and spring. The Godolphin homebred Proxy came to Fair Grounds a maiden but comes into the Lecomte with two local dirt-route wins. Proxy, trained by Mike Stidham, makes a good visual impression but was gifted easy leads in his local victories. Red N Wild was a well-beaten third last out in the Springboard Mile at Remington, and the horse with Remington form who might merit stronger consideration is Game Day Play. He beat Red N Wild in the seven-furlong Clever Trevor in October and had to be scratched from the Springboard after acting up and getting loose on his way from the barn to the paddock for the race. Bret Calhoun, Game Day Play’s trainer, said he has seen considerable improvement from the colt during morning training in recent weeks. Santa Cruiser looked good winning a one-turn maiden race and has a “nice, long, efficient stride” for his first route try, said Desormeaux Desormeaux thinks Santa Cruiser will handle two turns. Cox seems certain Mandaloun will. The colt, after all, has the vast force of the Juddmonte program pushing him forward.