Mocito Rojo back in Kentucky seeking another graded stakes win

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Shane Wilson is wading in deeper waters and likes it. Wilson is back in Kentucky from his Louisiana homeland, seeking another graded stakes triumph with Mocito Rojo, easily his best horse in more than two decades of training.

Mocito Rojo, a winner in 17 of 25 starts, is one of the favorites Saturday in the closing-day feature of the Keeneland fall meet, the Grade 2, $200,000 Fayette Stakes. A field of 10 older horses is entered in the 1 1/8-mile race.

“My wife and I have talked about maybe trying to come north with some horses in a few years,” said Wilson, 48. “Just visiting will have to do for now.”

Wilson’s last trip to Kentucky – his first to Churchill Downs – resulted in a hard-fought victory by Mocito Rojo in the Grade 3 Lukas Classic four weeks ago. Wilson and owner Wayne Davis, 90, agreed the Fayette should follow, and Mocito Rojo arrived here Monday after breezing an easy half-mile Saturday at his Delta Downs base. This is the second time Wilson has been to Keeneland. He sent out Hip Four Sixtynine to a fifth-place finish in the 2015 Commonwealth Stakes.

By any measure, Mocito Rojo is a terrific story. Claimed from his December 2016 debut for a mere $10,000, the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred horse by Mutadda has developed a relentless stalking style to earn $797,000 while climbing the class ladder. He’s the first stakes horse owned by Davis, and he’s a dream come true for Wilson, who began working on the racetrack as a 15-year-old stablehand at Louisiana Downs.

“The horse is doing super,” said Wilson, who has had 518 winners in a career dating to 1998. “Looking at his numbers, he fits with the other top horses,” alluding to Bal Harbour, Tom’s d’Etat, and Mr Freeze. “If he takes to this track and runs his race, he ought to be right there again.”

Regular rider Filemon Rodriguez, who missed the Lukas Classic with a collarbone injury, will be back aboard Mocito Rojo when they break from post 5 in the 62nd Fayette, the ninth of 10 Saturday races.

From the rail, this is the field: The Great Day, Mr Freeze, Tom’s d’Etat, Everfast, Mocito Rojo, Tenfold, Core Beliefs, Bal Harbour, Own Agenda, and Big Dollar Bill.

First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with the Fayette going at 5:30 p.m. The Missouri-Kentucky football game at nearby Kroger Field (kickoff, 7:30) completes the second Bluegrass doubleheader of the meet. Churchill starts its fall meet Sunday.