Rightandjust sharp and ready for Evangeline Mile

The 93-year-old owner Wayne T. Davis and his trainer, Shane Wilson, will attempt to win the Evangeline Mile for the third time in five years Saturday night when they send out probable favorite Rightandjust.

Rightandjust is the stablemate of Mocito Rojo, who won the Evangeline Mile in 2018 and 2019. At the time, it was an open-company stakes. This year, the $50,000 race is restricted to non-winners of an open stakes or horses who have started at the current meet at Evangeline.

Rightandjust, 4, has won his last two starts, both at Evangeline. He accounted for a one-mile allowance May 25, earning a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 90. One start later, he captured the John Henry, an off-the-turf stakes, with a Beyer of 88.

“He’s run big numbers his last two races,” Wilson said. “He always gave me a feeling that he could be better at 4, 5, and 6 than he was as a young horse.”

Last year, Rightandjust ran third in the Evangeline Mile. In the John Henry, he was prominent throughout and in the late stages fought off Strong Eagle, who is also part of the seven-horse Evangeline Mile field. Jose Guerrero rode Rightandjust in the John Henry, which was over 1 1/16 miles, and has the mount again Saturday.

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“He got a good trip,” Wilson said of Rightandjust. “We knew [Shippingport], if we let him get loose, he could go wire to wire. I wanted Jose to put pressure on him. We broke thinking we had to stay closer to the front and apply pressure, and luckily we had enough left to hold off the second-place finisher down the lane. That horse ran a huge race. Rightandjust just kept his neck in front all the way.”

Rightandjust will start from post 7. He could get a slightly different trip than he did in the John Henry.

“You’ve got Young Bull stretching out from five-eighths to a mile, so he’ll be the speed in the race,” Wilson said. “I think Strong Eagle will be closer this time. He didn’t break that well last time.

“I look for us to get a good trip from the outside hole. He leaves the gate well and can put himself where he wants to be. If it works out, we want to be laying second or third on the outside, stay in the three path or so, take over turning for home, and hopefully we’ve got enough to do it again.”

The bid for a third Evangeline Mile comes at a time when Davis’s stable is thriving. He’s the current leading owner at Louisiana Downs and near-millionaire Mocito Rojo has been working sharply for a comeback, said Wilson.

Another Evangeline Mile contender is Vodka Gimlet, a multiple stakes winner who was fourth in the John Henry.