Once again, Calhoun armed with pair of talented 3-year-olds

NEW ORLEANS – Last January at Fair Grounds, trainer Bret Calhoun had two colts he hoped could turn out to be serious players in the 2019 3-year-old dirt-route division. By My Standards was one of them, and he wound up winning the Louisiana Derby. Mr. Money was the other, and he won four straight Grade 3 races before finishing second in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby.

A year later, and the situation looks strikingly similar in the Calhoun barn. Mailman Money followed up on a debut sprint win at Churchill Downs last fall by winning a first-level allowance race Sunday at Fair Grounds by 5 3/4 lengths. He earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure and is bound for the Risen Star Stakes here Feb. 15.

Saturday, it’s Digital’s turn. In a battle of barnmates, Mailman Money beat Digital in their common Churchill debut, and after winning a maiden race here in December, he runs back in a first-level allowance on the Saturday card.

Digital is by Into Mischief, and Mailman Money, like both By My Standards and Mr. Money, is by Goldencents.

Calhoun said Monday that Mailman Money had come out of his Sunday win in a race rained from turf to dirt in good condition. Rating just behind the leaders, he seized command in upper stretch and easily turned back a mild bid from favored Winning Impression, who had notched a solid maiden route win here Dec. 21.

“I thought he ran really well, but there’s still room for him to get better,” Calhoun said. “He was running against horses yesterday who had more experience.”

Digital was favored at 6-5 in his debut, but after a slow break and a wide trip he proved unable to run down the 24-1 Mailman Money. Racing on a wet track for the second time, Digital was comfortably best in a Dec. 28 maiden sprint here, and he’ll get his first chance around two turns in Saturday’s fourth race. As well as Mailman Money ran Sunday, Digital, one gets the sense, is at least his equal on talent.

As for By My Standards and Mr. Money, By My Standards has gotten well into a breeze pattern training for his first start since a subpar performance in the Kentucky Derby, and Calhoun hopes to launch his 2020 campaign sometime in February. Mr. Money got 60 days off following a seventh-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile but has resumed farm training and should rejoin Calhoun’s barn in February.