Mo Tom, Airoforce will duke it out again in Risen Star
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
NEW ORLEANS – Tom Amoss has been here before. He’s won the Lecomte Stakes in January at Fair Grounds four times. His first Lecomte winner, Fly Cry in 1994, came back to win the Risen Star Stakes, finished fifth in the Arkansas Derby, then didn’t race again until late July. Some Actor won the 1999 Lecomte but didn’t race again until the following September. Ron the Greek eventually would become one of the better older dirt-route horses in the world, but in 2010, after winning the Lecomte, he was only good enough to finish sixth in the Risen Star.
Ask Amoss about his Lecomte winner this year, Mo Tom, and he doesn’t hesitate: Mo Tom is a better prospect coming into the Risen Star than any of his past early-season 3-year-olds.
“He has different characteristics than a lot of the horses that have made it this far with me before,” Amoss said.
Mo Tom won the Lecomte going away, and since then he has continued to grow and change for the better, Amoss said. All signs point to another strong performance in the Risen Star, and Mo Tom might have to bring one to beat Airoforce, to whom Mo Tom finished third last fall in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.
“I’m looking forward to meeting Airoforce,” said Amoss. “I want to know where we stand.”
Thirteen horses were entered in the Grade 2 Risen Star, which carries a $400,000 purse and 85 Kentucky Derby qualifying points spread out 50-20-10-5 between the first four finishers. At most, 12 horses will start in the 1 1/16-mile race since Laoban didn’t ship from California. The field includes three members of Daily Racing Form’s Derby Watch in Airoforce, Mo Tom, and Gun Runner, as well as Tom’s Ready, who gave Gayle Benson’s GMB Racing a one-two sweep when he finished second to Mo Tom in the Lecomte.
Saturday’s weather forecast couldn’t be better, with clear skies and a temperature in the low 70s expected. A 12-race card starts at 12:30 p.m. Central and includes the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra for 3-year-old fillies, a race that in recent years has been a key Kentucky Oaks prep. The Risen Star is the last of six stakes and immediately follows the Grade 3, $125,000 Fair Grounds Handicap, which Chocolate Ride will try to win for the second year.
KEY CONTENDERS
Mo Tom, by Uncle Mo
Last 3 Beyers: 88-85-80
◗ There appears to be quite a bit of skepticism about Mo Tom, and it’s somewhat hard to understand why. Since he overcame serious trouble in a sprint race far short of his ideal distance to win his career debut, Mo Tom has done nothing but improve. “I really think in the last three weeks he’s started so show some development in muscle tone and overall body type,” Amoss said. “It’s logical based on when he was born and where he is right now.”
◗ Mo Tom is a May foal – tall, rangy, and still growing into his body. But he has a fiery competitive instinct when he gets in a race and appears to love training, galloping with verve and long, smooth strides. “He’s just easy to work with. His running style is the way he trains, very easy,” said Amoss.
◗ Mo Tom probably would have finished head-and-head with Airoforce in the Kentucky Jockey Club had he not switched leads and lost momentum in midstretch, striding gingerly, Amoss theorizes, over a sloppy surface that looked glassy under lights.
◗ A dead closer, Mo Tom will drop to the back from an inside draw, with Corey Lanerie waiting for what looks like a hot pace to take its toll on the front-runners.
Airoforce, by Colonel John
Last 3 Beyers: 87- 87-80
◗ He had an excellent 2-year-old campaign, winning 3 of 4 starts and losing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf by just a neck. But he made three turf starts and one on a sloppy track at 2 and never has raced on fast dirt. Trainer Mark Casse said the reason he started Airoforce on grass was to race for a lucrative maiden purse at all-turf Kentucky Downs, and Casse is confident that Airoforce’s form will transfer to dry dirt.
◗ He was originally slated to make his first start at 3 in the Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 13 at Tampa Bay Downs, but Airoforce missed a couple of days’ training with a minor illness, then scoped with mucus in his lungs after a Feb. 6 workout. Casse altered his plans and said Airoforce came out of his work last weekend in great shape.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the past five years, Casse is 33-2-4-5 with a $0.75 return on investment with horses back from layoffs of 61-180 days in graded route stakes, and that after Tepin won under those circumstances last weekend.
Gun Runner, by Candy Ride
Last 3 Beyers: 82-84-72
◗ This compact, powerhouse chestnut colt makes his first start at 3, and trainer Steve Asmussen believes Gun Runner can fire fresh. “I love the work he’s put in for this race,” said Asmussen.
◗ He won his first two starts but faded slightly to fourth after making the front in the Kentucky Jockey Club, his first start on a sloppy track. “I’ve got nothing but respect for the company there. It was a very good race. It’s the caliber of horse that he has to run against in the future,” Asmussen said.
◗ Gun Runner has tactical speed and should sit just behind the likely fast pace and get first run on Airoforce and Mo Tom.
Tom’s Ready, by More than Ready
Last 3 Beyers: 84-84-67
◗ Trainer Dallas Stewart thought Tom’s Ready moved too early in the Lecomte, where Mo Tom collared him in midstretch and pulled away late.
◗ He’s faced Mo Tom three times and never has finished in front of him.