Stormdriver will use Gold Cup as steppingstone
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
Stormdriver has risen up out of the $30,000 claiming ranks to establish himself as one of the top older runners in Louisiana, and the sharp form he’s built this year makes him the one to beat Saturday night in the $100,000 Gold Cup at Delta Downs.
The Gold Cup, at a mile for statebreds, figures to produce a handful of starters for the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic on Dec. 12 at Fair Grounds. That’s the direction in which Stormdriver is being aimed, said trainer Patrick Devereux Jr., who has a healthy dose of admiration for the horse who leaves it all on the track when he runs.
“He’s as generous as any horse I’ve ever been around in my life,” Devereux said. “He’s just a wonderful horse.”
Stormdriver came under Devereux’s care last spring, and after taking a $30,000 claiming race on the grass, he went on to win the John Henry Stakes and Louisiana Legends Classic at Evangeline Downs. He also finished a close second in the Evangeline Mile, won by an invader from Southern California.
Stormdriver’s rivals at Delta include The Pickett Factor, fourth in last month’s Super Derby at Louisiana Downs; Galveston Harbor, a half-brother to Super Derby winner Mobile Bay; and multiple stakes winners Heavy On Themister and Populist Politics.
KEY CONTENDERS
Stormdriver (Last 3 Beyers: 90-82-96)
◗ He enters off a fourth-place finish in the $175,000 Governor’s Cup on Aug. 15 at Remington Park. Following the start, Stormdriver was freshened.
“I thought he was a little tired after that trip, and he’s run so hard for us,” Devereux said. “He’s a really hard trier. He guts himself pretty good, and before he was even cooled out that night, we decided that he was going to rest.”
◗ The versatile Stormdriver will break from post 3.
“When he runs his race, no pace is really safe,” Devereux said. “He can stalk, or he can close. He knows how fast they’re going, and he places himself throughout a race really well … he doesn’t have to let anybody get away with anything.”
◗ Donnie Meche has the mount for Fruition Racing.
The Pickett Factor (Last 3 Beyers: 87-87-86)
◗ The Super Derby has become a productive race since his fourth-place finish Sept. 12. The runner-up, Chocopologie, has returned to win a Delta optional claimer and is being considered for either the Hawthorne Gold Cup, the Zia Park Derby, or a stakes next month at Delta, said trainer Devereux.
◗ Luis Quinonez has the mount on The Pickett Factor for trainer Ralph Irwin.