Villandry makes local debut in Col. E.R. Bradley Handicap

NEW ORLEANS – Entrusted for the winter by trainer Charles LoPresti and Gainesway Stable to trainer David Carroll, graded stakes winner Villandry will be making his meet debut in the Grade 3 Col. E.R. Bradley Handicap on Saturday at Fair Grounds.

A 6-year-old gelding, Villandry will be racing for the first time since winning the 1 1/8-mile, Grade 3 River City Handicap on Nov. 8 at Churchill Downs to earn his first stakes victory. The Bradley distance is about 1 1/16 miles.

“He came to me from Charlie in good shape,” Carroll said. “We’re just very thankful to have him for the winter.”

The $125,000 Bradley is among three two-turn stakes races for older horses on the Saturday card. The $75,000, 1 1/16-mile Louisiana Handicap drew a competitive six-horse field, and the $60,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial at about 1 1/16 miles on turf attracted 11 older females.

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COL. E.R. BRADLEY H. (RACE 8)

KEY CONTENDERS

Villandry (Last 3 Beyers: 100-93-90)

◗ Villandry’s last three starts were in graded races. Two starts back, he finished third, a length behind winner Holiday Star, in the Grade 3 Sycamore at Keeneland at 1 1/2 miles.

◗ Villandry won the River City by 2 3/4 lengths after rallying strongly from midpack. “Looking at this race, he obviously wants to go a little longer,” Carroll said. “And there’s no pace in the race.” But Carroll said he’s hoping that because Villandry is fresh, he might settle a little closer to the pace than usual.

String King (Last 3 Beyers: 91-100-86)

◗ He reasserted himself as the top Louisiana-bred turf runner with a sharp victory from off the pace in the Louisiana Champions Day Turf in his last start Dec. 13.

◗ String King has been competitive in graded company at Fair Grounds. Two years ago, he was second in the Bradley and third in the Grade 2 Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Handicap. Last year, he set the early pace in the Bradley before finishing fourth, a length behind winner Daddy Nose Best. Owner-trainer Charles Smith said String King needed a layoff after that race because he wasn’t at his best. Now, at 7, String King “is acting like a 3-year-old,” Smith said. “I expect a top effort from him. He doesn’t know he’s a Louisiana-bred.”

Golden Soul (Last 3 Beyers: 76-92-87)

◗ The late-running Golden Soul is best known for finishing second on dirt in the Kentucky Derby in 2013, but trainer Dallas Stewart said the horse’s preferred surface is turf. Golden Soul won the last two times he raced on grass.

Grand Contender (Last 3 Beyers: 99-86-59)

◗ Trainer Tom Amoss appears to have entered Grand Contender in hopes that the surface will be switched to dirt, a move that worked for Amoss when Grand Contender won the Buddy Diliberto Memorial in his last start. The gelding, who never has raced on turf, also is entered in the Louisiana Handicap.

LOUISIANA H. (RACE 7)

KEY CONTENDERS

Grand Contender (Last 3 Beyers: 99-86-59)

◗ The highweight at 122 pounds, multiple graded stakes winner Grand Contender is a dangerous front-runner, though with the speedy Nates Mineshaft and Paddy’s Notes in this field, an unpressured trip appears unlikely.

Albano (Last 3 Beyers: 90-99-101)

◗ The Haskell Invitational runner-up, trained by Larry Jones, hasn’t raced since finishing third in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones on Sept. 1 at Parx. “He’s had several five-eighths works, and he’s doing well,” Jones said.

◗ The apparent abundance of early speed in the field doesn’t concern Jones. “Albano got off the fast pace in the Haskell and even in the race he won, the Pegasus,” Jones said.

Nates Mineshaft (Last 3 Beyers: 89-95-91)

◗ In the first half of 2012, he was one of the top handicap horses in the country and the best at Fair Grounds, where he set a track record in winning the New Orleans Handicap. Now, he’s 8 and has endured layoffs and come back from a brief retirement. Regarding whether he can regain his old form, trainer Anne Smith said: “He’s acting like he wants to.”

◗ Nates Mineshaft hasn’t won a two-turn race on dirt since 2012.

Hard Aces (Last 3 Beyers: 95-72-94)

◗ Hard Aces, the Tenacious runner-up, is likely to have more enticing odds than stablemate Albano. Jones said that Hard Spun offspring – such as Hard Aces – often improve with age. “That last race was the best of his career,” Jones said.

◗ Hard Aces’s off-the-pace style might be advantageous in this field.

MARIE G. KRANTZ MEMORIAL H. (RACE 10)

KEY CONTENDERS

Kitten’s Dumplings (Last 3 Beyers: 91-95-83)

◗ If Kitten’s Dumplings, who won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II at Keeneland in 2013, runs back to her best form, she’s the clear class of the field. But she hasn’t raced since the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in 2013, the layoff due to a fractured sesamoid, trainer Mike Maker said.

◗ It’s noteworthy that Maker shipped her from Gulfstream Park for this ungraded race and didn’t run her there last Saturday in the Grade 3 Marshua’s River. “We actually entered in an allowance race, but it didn’t fill,” he said. “We didn’t want to throw her to the wolves yet.”

Eden Prairie (Last 3 Beyers: 87-85-80)

◗ She’s 4 for 6 on this course, her latest victory coming in the Blushing K. D. Stakes, where she controlled a slow pace. Trainer Neil Pessin said he doesn’t expect such favorable circumstances in this race. “There’s a lot more speed than the last race,” he said.

Every Way (Last 3 Beyers: 82-87-85)

◗ A graded stakes-placed turf runner who is returning from a 4 1/2-month layoff, Every Way is the most accomplished of three entrants for trainer Mike Stidham.