Mr. Z pointing to Louisiana Derby

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Mr. Z is being pointed for the Louisiana Derby, with Corey Nakatani to have the mount, said trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Nakatani rode the horse for the first time Sunday, when Mr. Z finished a close third in the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest Stakes.

The Grade 2, $750,000 Louisiana Derby is a 1 1/8-mile race at Fair Grounds on March 28. The winner will earn 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

Mr. Z has participated in the first two races in Oaklawn’s stakes series for 3-year-olds. But the next leg, the Grade 2, $750,000 Rebel at 1 1/16 miles, is not an option since it’s the intended first start of the year for champion American Pharoah, the Bob Baffert trainee who like Mr. Z is owned by Zayat Stables.

“Right now, we’re targeting the Louisiana Derby,” Lukas said of Mr. Z. “That would be due to ownership of both horses by Zayat Stables. Mr. Zayat is bringing American Pharoah in for the Rebel. He’d like to keep these horses separated. The plan is to develop both horses for the Kentucky Derby program, to do what’s best for both horses to get them to the promised land.”

Mr. Z, who was the favorite in the Southwest, is a multiple Grade 1-placed runner with earnings of $544,726.

Baffert has won four of the last five runnings of the Rebel, with the other winner during that time frame trained by Lukas.