Shiskabob prep for many

The eighth race Saturday at Louisiana Downs will serve as a springboard to next month's $50,000 Shiskabob for several horses in the five-furlong turf allowance. Chief among them is Gold Wonder, a multiple stakes winner who will be cutting back from two turns.

"He likes laying close to the lead going long, but he'll probably have to close on these," said Michelle Lovell, who trains Gold Wonder for Kamal Sheena. "It looks like there's some speed in there. We're just going to let him run his race, wherever he's comfortable.

"It's a pretty competitive race we're in."

Gold Wonder won the $60,000 LaCombe Memorial at about a mile on turf at Fair Grounds in March. He followed that effort up with a wire-to-wire win in a $35,000 optional claimer at the same distance at Evangeline on May 20. Richard Eramia has the mount on Gold Wonder.

Trainer Joe Duhon sends out Point Gold, and he said he would like to see the horse develop into a candidate for the Shiskabob, a one-mile turf race at Louisiana Downs on Aug. 15. The horse will be making his first start since December, when he finished seventh in a one-mile optional claimer at Fair Grounds that was won by top Claiming Crown entrant Antrim County.

"The horse is doing really good," Duhon said of Point Gold. "I don't think he handled the turf at Fair Grounds. He's always run pretty decent here."

Dustin Dugas has the mount on Point Gold.

Others in the field include Lone Star Special, a two-time stakes winner over the local course who will be making his first start in a year, and Ceasers March, a front-running threat for trainer Bret Calhoun.