Old pals Eagle, Another Lemon Drop square off in Lecomte

NEW ORLEANS – Perhaps Eagle and Another Lemon Drop will nod at each other or shake hooves in the paddock before the Lecomte next Saturday at Fair Grounds. After all, they have known each other since they were babies being broken at Classic Mile Training Center in Ocala, Fla.

“They’re like grade-school buddies,” said Bill Recio, the trainer who broke Eagle and Another Lemon Drop. “The funny thing is, they were both in the same barn. They trained together.”

The Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte is the first stakes prep for the Louisiana Derby and the meet’s first race with Kentucky Derby qualifying points at stake. Entries will be taken Monday for the race at a mile and 70 yards. Four other stakes will be on the card, billed as “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day.”

A Candy Ride colt who has won 2 of 4 starts for trainer Neil Howard, Eagle will be racing for the first time since finishing third in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs. He worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 on Monday, his fourth workout since he arrived in New Orleans.

:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays

“I think he’s held his form, in my opinion, very, very nicely since his last race at Churchill,” Howard said.

When Eagle debuted with a sprint victory in July at Ellis Park, “he was acting like a wild high-school kid,” Howard said. “That’s why we waited until the September meet at Churchill to run him back. Now, he’s figured it out. He’s been the consummate professional.”

A Lemon Drop Kid colt who has won 2 of 4 starts for trainer Phil Bauer, Another Lemon Drop will be making his stakes debut. He routed first-level optional-claiming rivals at a mile Dec. 19 at Fair Grounds.

“He’s trained super out of his last race, had a real good workout Friday,” Bauer said.

Another Lemon Drop worked a half-mile in 49 seconds.

“We’re excited,” Bauer said. “It’s fun to be a part of the dream at this point.”

Recio said Eagle and Another Lemon Drop “both did everything right from the very beginning.’ They were training partners, Recio said, because he tries to pair horses of similar ability.

“As babies, I never want to overmatch one,” he said. “It’s just like young children. I try to match them head-and-head. I don’t want them to lose confidence.”

Naturally, Recio said, he will be watching his former students in the Lecomte.

“I hope they finish in a dead heat,” he said.

As of Wednesday, Fair Grounds stakes coordinator Scott Jones hadn’t received many commitments for the Lecomte. Besides Eagle and Another Lemon Drop, Jones listed Bourbon Cowboy, trained by Richie Scherer, and Tiznow R J, trained by Steve Asmussen, as expected entrants.

By text Wednesday, trainer Todd Pletcher said he’s considering running Savoy Stomp if travel from Palm Beach Downs can be arranged. Also, War Story, based at Fair Grounds, is being considered for the race by trainer Tom Amoss and co-owner Ron Paolucci. On Wednesday, Amoss said they have yet to make a decision.

Bourbon Cowboy, who has won 1 of 6 starts, placed in two stakes – the Sugar Bowl at Fair Grounds and the Fitz Dixon Jr. Memorial at Presque Isle.

Tiznow R J won a maiden race at a mile and 70 yards by 13 1/2 lengths Dec. 11 at Fair Grounds in his third start.

“His first two-turn race was a big step forward,” Asmussen said. “Now, the competition gets a whole lot tougher. He has to keep going forward.”