$400,000 Lecomte Stakes, Fair Grounds, Feb. 18, 2023
(50 qualifying points for first, 20 for second, 15 for third, 10 for fourth, and 5 for fifth)
Winner: Angel of Empire, by Classic Empire
Trainer: Brad Cox
Jockey: Luis Saez
Owner: Albaugh Family Stable
Distance / time: 1 1/8 miles / 1:51.47
Win margin: Three-quarters
Beyer: 89
ARCADIA, Calif. – Chase the Chaos, winner of the El Camino Real Derby on Feb. 11 at Golden Gate Fields, will have his graded stakes debut in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 4 at Santa Anita.
The $400,000 San Felipe Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles is a key prep for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 8.
Chase the Chaos won his first stakes in the El Camino Real Derby at 1 1/8 miles on a synthetic track, closing from fifth in a field of eight to win by 1 1/2 lengths.
ARCADIA, Calif. -- The exciting maiden race winner Geaux Rocket Ride is on schedule for his stakes debut in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/6 miles at Santa Anita on March 4.
On Saturday at Santa Anita, Geaux Rocket Ride worked five furlongs in 1:00.40, his second-to-last major exercise before the $400,000 San Felipe Stakes.
“Everything we see is good,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “It was a handy work.”
A quartet of 3-year-olds who have made all their previous starts for trainer Bob Baffert are nominated to the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes on March 4 at Aqueduct under the name of different trainers. Three of the horses are now listed as being trained by Tim Yakteen, one with Brittany Russell.
NEW ORLEANS – In terms of Beyer Speed Figures, the 3-year-olds were all upside-down Saturday at Fair Grounds. Angel of Empire won the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes running 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.47 seconds, good for an 87 Beyer. Earlier on the card, Denington ran down Cagliostro in a first-level allowance race, going 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.41, which yielded a 91 Beyer. And fastest of all was first-time starter Bishops Bay, who in race 5 whistled six furlongs in 1:10.07 and got a 97 Beyer.
A U.S. District Court judge in Louisville has denied a motion from Bob Baffert that would prevent Churchill Downs from continuing to ban the trainer, a decision that will likely result in Arabian Knight, Baffert’s top 3-year-old, being transferred from his barn to seek a spot in this year’s Kentucky Derby.
NEW ORLEANS – The trainer Brad Cox made his Kentucky Derby debut in 2021, when he ran two horses. In 2022, Cox got three colts into the Derby. This year, Cox might field an entire battalion.
Of the 15 races run outside California offering qualifying points toward the 2023 Derby, Cox has finished first or second – even first and second – in nine. Five of his horses are among the 20 in Daily Racing Form’s most recent Derby Watch; others are knocking at that door.
The well-bred Wadsworth has hit his stride at Turfway Park, with a Saturday night allowance-level score his second straight win on the Tapeta. Trainer Brad Cox said he and owner-breeder Godolphin are “definitely considering” Turfway’s upcoming Kentucky Derby points races for the gelding.
Hit Show
Candy Ride – Actress, by Tapit
Bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West
Hit Show has won 3 of 4 career starts, with his latest effort, a 5 1/2-length victory in the Grade 3 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct, catapulting him up the Derby Watch list. Gary and Mary West’s homebred son of perennial leading sire Candy Ride brings a solid two-turn pedigree to further challenges on the Derby trail.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Hit Show, the Grade 3 Withers winner, hit the road Wednesday and will do his training at Fair Grounds for his next start, which is still likely to occur in the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 8 at Aqueduct.
Dustin Dugas, the Belmont Park-based assistant to trainer Brad Cox, said owner Gary West expressed a preference not to stay in New York for the next two months and train over the deep Belmont training track.
Hit Show was stabled at Oaklawn Park before shipping to New York for the Withers, which he won by 5 1/2 lengths.
