The Pickett Factor eyes Louisiana Downs stakes

The Pickett Factor might have positioned himself for a shot at stakes competition last Friday with a powerful second-level allowance win at Louisiana Downs. He was making his two-turn debut, and after tracking the pace early, the 3-year-old won by 5 3/4 lengths over older horses, earning a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 85.

“I was quite proud of him,” said Ralph Irwin, who trains the horse for Melissa Cantacuzene. “He relaxed and rated kindly and then ran big for us. I was real happy with him. He seems to be coming into his own and maturing as he goes along.”

The Pickett Factor has won 3 of 4 career starts, including a maiden special weight race in his debut in February at Oaklawn. His other win came in a first-level allowance at seven furlongs June 12 at Louisiana Downs. In the June race, he also defeated older rivals while winning by 5 1/4 lengths and earning an 81 Beyer.

“The seven-eighths, the fashion in which he did that, hit a high note for me,” Irwin said. “I don’t want to speak out of turn, but to me in that race and the last race, too, he had more gears to give.”

Louisiana Downs has a couple of upcoming stakes for which The Pickett Factor is eligible. He fits some of the races on the Louisiana Cup card Aug. 8. On the same program, Louisiana Downs puts on the $100,000 Prelude, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds that serves as a prep for the Grade 2, $400,000 Super Derby on Sept. 12.

“We don’t know what direction we’d like to go in,” Irwin said. “We’re tossing some things up in the air right at the moment.”

The Pickett Factor was a private purchase from breeder E.O. Pickett. He is by Gold Tribute. The Pickett Factor’s dam, Dynaspice, produced the multiple stakes winner Benwill.