State of Honor likely to run in Florida Derby

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – State of Honor, flying a bit under the radar on the Kentucky Derby trail despite finishing behind only McCraken and Tapwrit in his last two starts at Tampa Bay Downs, is likely headed back to Gulfstream Park for the $1 million Florida Derby next Saturday.

State of Honor was scheduled to have his final prep for the Grade 1 Florida Derby on Friday, but a sloppy track at Palm Meadows forced assistant trainer Norm Casse to postpone the breeze until Saturday.

“He’ll work, and if he works well, we’d like to run him in the Florida Derby,” said Casse. “We know he likes the racetrack, and we also feel like it suits him better, it’s more conducive to his style, than some of the racetracks where the other Derby preps are held.”

State of Honor, who is 11th in the points standings that determine the field for the Kentucky Derby, finished second, beaten 4 1/2 lengths by Tapwrit, after setting the early pace in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby. He also was third behind McCraken and Tapwrit after showing the way early in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis. State of Honor wore blinkers for both races but will compete without them in his next start.

“We think he ran really well in both those races and might not be getting as much credit as he deserves,” said Casse, who oversees the Palm Meadows-based string for his father, trainer Mark Casse. “We’re also going to take the blinkers off because he seems to have been a bit rank in each of his last two starts. He’s been a little tough to handle, and we’d like to see him slow down a little bit early on in his races.”

Norm Casse said State of Honor would have regular rider Julien Leparoux aboard in the Florida Derby.

Casse was also forced to postpone several other important works from Friday to Saturday due to track conditions, including turf breezes for Catch a Glimpse, Dream Dancing (the winner of the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride at this meet), Mississippi Delta, and Siding Spring. Mississippi Delta is being pointed to the Grade 3 Honey Fox, and Siding Spring will run in the Grade 3 Appleton on the Florida Derby undercard.

◗ Entries for the entire Florida Derby card will be drawn on Wednesday with post positions for the main event to be drawn at 11 a.m. in Ten Palms restaurant. The draw is open to the public at a cost of $30 per person, which includes a lunch buffet.
◗ The Florida Derby golf tournament will be held at noon Tuesday at the Diplomat Resort and Spa. The cost is $175 per player with a scramble format. For information or to sign up as a sponsor call 954-457-6186.