Robertson likes his chances in Fair Grounds Stakes

NEW ORLEANS – Hugh Robertson, 72, a farm boy from Schuyler, Neb., sat Wednesday at his usual perch, the viewing shed near the seven-sixteenths pole on the Fair Grounds backstretch, and talked some smack.

A visitor was extolling the potential virtues of Adhamo, a Chad Brown-trained 4-year-old French import set to make his North American debut here Saturday in the Grade 3, $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes.

“Chad Brown? We don’t worry about him,” Robertson said.

Robertson possesses a bemused, droll sense of humor, and this was intentionally exaggerated bravado – for the most part.

Robertson’s point of reference was the Grade 1 Mr. D. Stakes last August at Arlington, where Two Emmys, a horse he purchased for $4,500 and who he trains and co-owns with Randall Wolfe, took down Domestic Spending, the Brown-trained star who was a 2021 Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding male turf horse.

:: For the first time ever, our premium past performances are free! Get free Formulator now!

Robertson does bring up a good point: Adhamo might pan out nicely this year if he adapts to American turf racing, but it’s hard to see him being as good as Domestic Spending. There’s nothing good, however, about the post Two Emmys drew Saturday: He has the 11-hole, and even with a long run to the first turn in this nine-furlong turf contest, that’s not a favorable starting spot.

“He’s training fine, but you usually end up wide from a post like that,” Robertson said. “He does drop six pounds.”

Two Emmys carried 124 pounds Jan. 22 in the Colonel E.R. Bradley, his first start since taking a tough loss – from another bad draw – in the Sycamore Stakes on Oct. 22 at Keeneland. Robertson said he had Two Emmys, second to high-class Colonel Liam over this course last March in the Muniz Memorial, suitably fit for the Bradley, but Two Emmys did get pinned down along the rail, the worst part of the Fair Grounds course that day. He held gamely to the final 50 yards before finishing third, beaten a half-length by Halo Again, who was a head behind upset winner Forty Under.

Halo Again has been a mild revelation since being switched to turf this Fair Grounds meet following a lengthy absence. He won Dilberto Memorial, his grass debut, in December and might have been the best horse in the Bradley, but the local group faces tough shipping competition.

Adhamo, Santin, and Largent invade from Florida, all seemingly with a legitimate claim. Adhamo was a Group 3 winner, Group 2-placed, and a respectable seventh of 19 in the French Derby while racing overseas for trainer Freddie Head during 2021. Purchased at a sale late last year, he runs Saturday for Brown and owners Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, and Louis Lazzinnaro. Brown suspects Adhamo might better suit 1 1/4 miles than the Fair Grounds at 1 1/8 miles. The colt, working steadily and encouragingly at the Palm Meadows training center, raced nearly exclusively over soft courses in France.

:: Want to start playing with a $510 bankroll and have access to free Formulator? Learn more

“I thought the mile and an eighth at Fair Grounds was a good place to start, and you don’t run over a rock-hard turf course. He probably wants a little more give in the ground,” Brown said.

The temporary turf rail will be set at 12 feet on Saturday, when clear skies and seasonably cool temperatures are forecast. A rainy Thursday could provide course conditions to suit Adhamo.

Santin, another 4-year-old, packed a lot into a three-start 2021 campaign that ran from Sept. 27 through Nov. 27. Santin whipped from an Indiana Grand debut maiden win to a near victory in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby, where post 14 and a tepid pace compromised his chances. A Godolphin homebred, he is gifted with a strong, sustainable turn of foot, and trainer Brendan Walsh said Santin should be ready to fire first start following a layoff approaching three months.

“We backed off him a little following the race in California, and he’s come back good,” Walsh said. “He’s lacking in experience, but he can make up for that with the talent he has.”

Largent’s career best came when he finished second, beaten a neck by Colonel Liam, in the 2021 renewal of the Pegasus World Cup Turf, but Largent didn’t start again for the better part of a year. He was bet like he couldn’t lose the Tropical Park Turf on Jan. 8, but Largent turned out to be too ring-rusty and checked in fourth at a desperately short price.

“We originally were thinking we weren’t going to be ready for the [Tropical Turf], but we decided to take a shot in a short field, and I think he simply needed the race,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Major Fed was to make his turf debut in the Bradley last month before spiking a temperature that required treatment and forced a scratch. Captivating Moon won the 2021 Fair Grounds at 43-1 but hasn’t raced since July.

And maybe Two Emmys can back up his trainer’s tough talk in the Fair Grounds.