Monte Man may leave Louisiana for next start

Monte Man is back home at Evangeline Downs following a troubled fourth-place finish in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Sprint on Saturday at Louisiana Downs with plans for his next race to be determined, according to trainer Ron Faucheux. The horse, who is the reigning Louisiana-bred of the Year, has the Louisiana Champions Day Sprint in December at Fair Grounds as a long range goal.

“There’s not many options in Louisiana,” Faucheux said. “We may tackle an allowance race outside the state. He has some conditions against open company and we might take advantage of that.”

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Monte Man was the 4-5 favorite in the Louisiana Cup Sprint off a win in the $75,000 Louisiana Legends Sprint in May at Evangeline Downs. He stumbled from post 2 on Saturday, then was forced to check on the turn.

“He looks fine,” Faucheux said. “It looks like he didn’t even run. That inside post really hurt us. He stumbled a bit leaving the gates . . . it just wasn’t his day.”

Monte Man won seven straight races in Louisiana from December 2017 through November 2018 to lock up Louisiana Horse of the Year honors from the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association. He’s won stakes races at every track in Louisiana. He is owned by Ivery Sisters Racing.