Mineshaft Handicap a prep race for Lone Sailor
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
NEW ORLEANS – There’s nothing like a Mineshaft entered in the Grade 3, $150,000 handicap Saturday at Fair Grounds that bears that horse’s name. Mineshaft himself began his 2003 Horse of the Year campaign in a minor stakes at Fair Grounds, but the entrants in this 1 1/16-mile prep for the New Orleans Handicap have at best been Grade 3 types.
There are, however, a lot of them, with 13 entered, but Quip, the most interesting horse in the field, will be scratched, trainer Rodolphe Brisset said, after drawing post 13. Quip didn’t ship from Florida and will instead make his 4-year-old debut in the Hal’s Hope Stakes next Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Two others, Lone Sailor and Flameaway, are scheduled to make their first start at age 4, but neither is set for anything like a top performance, according to their trainers.
Lone Sailor, a creditable sixth last out in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, has come around fairly quickly since shipping to New Orleans in late December following a six-week break in Florida. Still, trainer Tom Amoss said, “It shouldn’t be a secret to anyone that the goal for Lone Sailor is to be at his best for the New Orleans Handicap.”
Lone Sailor is listed as the 7-2 morning-line favorite and is worth playing against, as is Flameaway, set at 5-1 on the track’s morning line. Flameaway, whose best win came a year ago in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa, hasn’t started since a poor showing in August at Parx Racing.
“We need to get him started and see where we are with him,” said Mark Casse, not sounding much like a trainer forecasting a breakout performance.
Harlan Punch, the 120-pound highweight, was made the 4-1 second choice but probably will be favored for trainer Brad Cox after winning the Louisiana Stakes here Jan. 19 by three-quarters of a length.
“He’s been training real well,” Cox said. “I expect him to improve from that last race.”
Silver Dust, repelled late in the Louisiana by Harlan Punch, finished second in that race and has gotten into a solid rhythm this winter. He stands a solid chance of repeating that last performance and contending at a better price than Harlan Punch.
