Super Derby truly a toss-up
BOSSIER CITY, La. – This is a Super Derby for horseplayers. There’s no clear-cut favorite in the Grade 2, $400,000 race Saturday at Louisiana Downs, with The Pickett Factor, Allied Air Raid, and Prime Engine looking like the chief players in the field of seven that also includes multiple stakes winners Mobile Bay and Four Leaf Chief.
“I don’t think there’s a standout,” said Brad Cox, who trains Allied Air Raid. “No one in there is scared of anyone else.”
“It’s going to be a horse race,” said Ralph Irwin, who trains The Pickett Factor. “It’s going to be very, very competitive.”
The Super Derby is the richest race of the meet and anchors a 13-race card that features seven stakes worth a total of $900,000. It’s also the final leg of an all-stakes pick four that has a guaranteed pool of $100,000. The sequence covers races 8-11. Louisiana Downs will have a special first post of noon Central, and forecasts are calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s.
Super Derby, Race 11
KEY CONTENDERS
The Pickett Factor (Last 3 Beyers: 87-86-80)
◗ The Pickett Factor is seeking to win his fourth consecutive race in a streak built at this meet. He defeated older horses in a pair of allowances and then last out earned a fees-paid berth into the Super Derby with his win in the $100,000 Prelude. Irwin said The Pickett Factor has continued to do well up to the Super Derby, with his final major prep for the race a five-furlong drill in 59.40 seconds Aug. 25.
“I can’t fault him through his training,” said Irwin. “He worked fast, galloped out strong. Basically, we’ve just tried to stay with what’s got us this far. We’re just trying to keep him happy. He looks the part, and hopefully we’ve done our job so he can do his.”
◗ The Pickett Factor, who races for Melissa Cantacuzene, will be making his first start at 1 1/8 miles in the Super Derby.
“That’s got to be a concern,” Irwin said. “Of course, he handled the mile and a sixteenth very good in the Prelude, but you go another little step farther. The mile and a sixteenth concerned me last time. I know the chart said he won by a length and a quarter, but [jockey Donnie Meche] had a lot of horse left, and that makes me feel good.”
◗ Meche has the mount from post 3.
Prime Engine (Last 3 Beyers: 83-82-70)
◗ He is coming off a six-length win in the Emerald Downs Derby, a 1 1/8-mile race Aug. 9. It was a breakout race for Prime Engine.
“I thought he put everything together and just kind of showed the potential he has,” said trainer Mike Puhich. “He just put it all together, got the right trip, and we added blinkers, and I think that kind of helped him focus better as well.”
◗ Prime Engine will break from the rail under Joe Steiner.
“It’s the shortest way around there,” said Puhich. “He’s got really good tactical speed. He’s just really a push-button type of horse.”
Allied Air Raid (Last 3 Beyers: 85-88-85)
◗ He was the runner-up in the Grade 3 Iowa Derby in June and then finished second last out in the Prelude. He will be moving to 1 1/8 miles for the first time Saturday.
“I don’t think it will be a problem,” said Cox. “His last race, he galloped out so well. We’ve kind of been pointing for this race for a while.”
◗ Chris Landeros has the mount from post 5.
“He’s a grinder,” Cox said of Allied Air Raid. “He can be a little deceiving to a rider, and Chris knows the horse because he rode him when he debuted and when he broke his maiden.”
◗ Allied Air Raid won his maiden at Oaklawn in March.