No Parole will stretch speed around two turns in Gold Cup
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Grade 1 winner No Parole will make a rare appearance around two turns Saturday night when he returns to Delta Downs for the $100,000 Gold Cup.
No Parole is part of a field of 10 for the Louisiana-bred race for 3-year-olds and up. The Gold Cup, which is to be run over seven furlongs, is being held on a six-furlong surface.
“I think it’s definitely within his capability, particularly at a track like Delta,” said trainer Tom Amoss. “No Parole is so athletic, so good at making those two turns. There’s no issue with that.
“On the other hand, there is some quality speed in the race that could possibly challenge him early, and we are committed to making the lead. That’s where the worries come in. Who will challenge early and to what extent are they willing to use their horse to come after ours?”
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No Parole, who will break from post 4 under Diego Saenz, faces fellow stakes winners Underpressure, Chu Chu’s Legacy, Treys Midnite Moon, Maga Man, and Grand Luwegee.
No Parole has made two prior appearances at Delta. Both were for stakes on Louisiana Premier Night and he won each of them: the Prince, a mile race for 3-year-olds in 2020, and the Sprint, a five-furlong race for older horses in February.
Owned by Maggi Moss and Greg Tramontin, No Parole has won 6 of 11 starts. No Parole’s Grade 1 win came in June 2020, when he won the Woody Stephens over seven furlongs at Belmont Park.
The Gold Cup will be No Parole’s first start since April, when he dueled through quick fractions and finished seventh behind winner C Z Rocket and champion Whitmore in the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn.
“If you look at his work pattern, he’s come back very, very well, and has trained very well,” Amoss said. “We’ve run in a Delta stakes off a layoff before, and it’s worked out.”
Amoss said he’d like to see No Parole take part in the Louisiana Champions Day Sprint over six furlongs Dec. 11 at Fair Grounds.
No Parole’s challengers on the front end could include Chu Chu’s Legacy, who is seeking his fifth stakes win. He comes off back-to-back stakes victories, his latest the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Day Sprint at six furlongs Aug. 21 at Louisiana Downs.
“He’s doing great,” said Allen Landry, who owns and trains Chu Chu’s Legacy. “He’s won stakes his last couple of starts, going a mile at Evangeline, then three-quarters at Shreveport. He’s really good right now. We hope to give them a run for their money.”
Chu Chu’s Legacy will break from post 5 under Joe Stokes.