Road to the Derby Kickoff Day draw attracts 141 entrants

Fair Grounds on Saturday drew the 2021 Road to the Derby Kickoff Day program, a 13-race, six-stakes extravaganza that attracted 141 entrants, excluding also-eligibles.

The Jan. 16 card has the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte Stakes for 3-year-olds as the nightcap and headliner. The Lecomte, carded for 1 1/16 miles, is part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby offering 17 Derby qualifying points distributed 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers.

Mandaloun could be favored in the Lecomte despite the fact he’s never raced around two turns and will make his stakes debut from post 10. But Mandaloun has won both his starts – a maiden race at Keeneland and an allowance at Churchill – and is trained by Brad Cox, with Florent Geroux to ride. A Juddmonte Farms homebred, Mandaloun, by Into Mischief out of Brooch, by Empire Maker, is an imposing physical specimen for whom connections have Kentucky Derby aspirations.

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Eleven were entered in the Lecomte, but Manor House and Beep Beep are cross-entered in a 3-year-old dirt-route allowance race earlier on the card. Also in the Lecomte field is Midnight Bourbon, last seen finishing a distant third in the Champagne Stakes last October. Midnight Bourbon drew the rail and outside of him are Arabian Prince, Beep Beep, Proxy, Regular Guy, Game Day Play, Santa Cruiser, Red N Wild, Manor House, Mandaloun, and Dyn O Mite.

Mandaloun’s connections – Juddmonte, Cox, and Geroux – also have the likely favorite in the $150,000 Silverbulletday, Sun Path, who aced her two-turn debut winning a Fair Grounds allowance race last month. Sun Path, a full sister to 2020 Fair Grounds Oaks winner Bonny South, was a sharp second-start maiden winner last fall at Churchill Downs. She drew the outside post in a field of nine.

Cox also entered Divine Comedy, a recent Fair Grounds maiden winner, in this one mile, 70-yard dirt contest. Trainer Mark Casse tries Super Sensational on dirt for the first time after the filly went 2 for 2 last year at Woodbine, winning the Glorious Song Stakes. Littlestitious comes off an easy win in the My Trusty Cat at Delta Downs for trainer Tom Amoss.

The Silverbulletday is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks and offers the same points distribution as the Lecomte.

The $125,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley drew 11 entrants including Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes-winner Logical Myth and Spectacular Gem, fifth as the favorite in the same race. Mr. Misunderstood starts for Cox, while Captivating Moon and My Boy Jack were cross-entered in the $125,000 Louisiana Stakes. That race, at 1 1/16 miles on dirt, drew seven other entrants and came up pretty good for the class level. The field includes Wells Bayou, last seen finishing fifth in a division of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in May after winning the Louisiana Derby; Silver Prospector, sixth in the Grade 1 Clark last out; Sonneman, a solid second to Maxfield in the Tenacious Stakes last month; and Blackberry Wine, an eye-catching Dec. 13 allowance-race winner at Fair Grounds.

The $100,000 Marie Krantz drew the top three finishers from the Blushing K.D. Stakes last month – Dalika, Curlin’s Journey, and Secret Message. Archidust and Just Might head the eight-horse Duncan Kenner, a turf sprint for older horses.

First post for the card is noon Central, an hour earlier than standard. The early weather forecast looks favorable for racing, with nearly no chance of precipitation from Tuesday through Saturday.