Grade 3, $194,500 Lecomte Stakes, Fair Grounds, Jan. 21, 2023, (20 qualifying points for first, 8 for second, 4 for third, 3 for fourth, and 2 for fifth) Winner: Instant Coffee, by Bolt d’Oro Trainer: Brad Cox Jockey: Luis Saez Owner: Gold Square Distance / time: 1 1/16 miles / 1:45.12 Win margin: 2 1/2 lengths Beyer: 92 With Tapit’s Conquest scratched in favor of an allowance race (he was a tough-luck second) and Itzos kept in Kentucky for the Leonatus Stakes (he finished seventh), the Lecomte, the second race in the division this Fair Grounds meet following the Gun Runner on Dec. 26, went with a field of just six. INSTANT COFFEE had to overcome a slow pace winning the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 26 but had a far more favorable race flow in the Lecomte, where the half-mile split came up a wickedly fast 47.19 seconds. One race earlier, in the Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes for older horses, that half-mile split had been 49.75. With a pace assist, Instant Coffee won by a comfortable margin. Instant Coffee bobbled at the start, the ground appearing to break away from his hind legs when he pushed off, but he probably was going to be last in any case, so no harm done. From the first crop of young sire Bolt d’Oro, Instant Coffee isn’t the most beautiful mover and he required attention from jockey Luis Saez to keep him connected to the rest of the field running down the backstretch. At the half-mile pole, Instant Coffee still last, Saez began more obviously asking Instant Coffee for run, which the colt provided, but not without encouragement.  Coming three to four paths wide, he went by a wobbling BROMLEY before the five-sixteenths pole to get out of last. Saez popped Instant Coffee with the crop at the quarter pole as he passed rail-running DENINGTON and took aim at the top three. TWO PHIL’S had made a wide bid of his own off the far turn, and Saez followed that move, getting by pacesetting ECHO AGAIN and pace-pressing CONFIDENCE GAME before the furlong pole, then wearing down Two Phil’s through the final half-furlong. Saez smacked Instant Coffee once more at about the three-sixteenths pole, then vigorously hand-rode, showing his mount the crop in the final stages. :: DRF Bets players have exclusive access to FREE DRF Past Performances - Classic or Formulator! Join today.  Instant Coffee bumped his best Beyer seven points over his peak, which came in his seven-furlong career debut at Saratoga. He now has won 3 of 4 starts, but his lone defeat, the Breeders’ Futurity last October at Keeneland, came by more than seven lengths. Was it mere coincidence that the top two finishers there, Forte and Loggins, appeared to be truly elite members of their class? Or is it the case that Instant Coffee sits a rung or so below horses like that? At Keeneland, he was nosed out for third by Red Route One, who might have won the Kentucky Jockey Club with more luck in the homestretch. The Lecomte essentially was served on a platter to Instant Coffee – credit him for winning, but the colt still must prove he’s a high-end Derby player. Two Phil’s, racing for the first time since winning the Street Sense on Oct. 30 at Churchill, broke from post 6 and was taken back into the first turn by Jareth Loveberry to avoid being caught four paths wide. Rating along in fourth while just outside Denington, Two Phil’s traveled much more strongly early on the backstretch than Instant Coffee, though as the pace quickened, Loveberry’s reins went from taut to loose, meaning Two Phil’s no longer was in hand. Loveberry asked for a little more midway around the far turn, Two Phil’s passing Bromley and Denington while about three paths off the fence and getting to Echo Again and Confidence Game at the five-sixteenths pole.  Two Phil’s took the lead at the quarter pole but by the time he belatedly changed leads at the three-sixteenths, Instant Coffee nearly had caught him. Two Phil’s just before the eighth pole either drifted out or was steered that way by Loveberry, seeking to make sure his mount engaged Instant Coffee, before moving back inside while failing to match late stride with the winner. Two Phil’s came into this looking a notch below Instant Coffee and came out of it the same way. Confidence Game, racing for the first time since wiring a first-level route allowance Nov. 26 at Churchill, was the one horse in the Lecomte who clearly outperformed his finishing position. Showing speed out of the gate, he was unable to clear Echo Again and Bromley, getting stuck three wide with no cover around the first turn. He pulled too hard for his head going very fast down the backstretch, was caught between Echo Again and Two Phil’s at the quarter pole, grew weary thereafter, but still managed to be third by three lengths over Denington. Even accounting for his trip, Confidence Game in the end was beaten nearly eight lengths. There was not much evidence coming into the Lecomte suggesting Denington could race competitively, and the addition of blinkers did nothing to improve his performance. He had a much easier ground-saving stalking trip than Confidence Game and still couldn’t come close to beating him. Stretching out from two sprint wins to begin his career, Bromley had speed and raced between Echo Again and Confidence Game to the half-mile pole but was the first one beaten, dropping out before the three-eighths, and was about 20 lengths behind at the end. Echo Again was pulled up at about the eighth pole after setting a strong pace but was able to walk off the course himself. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.