NEW ORLEANS – Kenny McPeek can’t stop trying new stuff.
Long before Wesley Ward, he ran American horses in England. He spent large chunks of time in South America, looking for high-class racing stock. He oversaw the develop of a racing app and has under his umbrella not one but two training centers and farms, in Kentucky and Florida. At base, McPeek remains a horse trainer, and all the out-the-box ventures aside, there would likely be nothing in his career to rival winning a Kentucky Derby.
It seems appropriate that New Orleans, adopted home of Emeril Lagasse, is the locale where the Road to the Derby kicks it up a notch.
The Risen Star Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds is the first race on the road to the 2022 Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs that offers 85 points overall, with 50 going to the winner. To borrow from the Breeders’ Cup, it’s essentially a Win and You’re In for the Derby.
Smile Happy
Runhappy – Pleasant Smile, by Pleasant Tap
Bred in Kentucky by Moreau Bloodstock and White Bloodstock ($175,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase by Cooper Bloodstock; $185,000 Fasig-Tipton showcase yearling purchase by Lucky Seven Stable)
WHO'S HOT
Todd Pletcher, a two-time Kentucky Derby winner, has four of the runners on the inaugural Derby Watch top 20. Other trainers with multiple runners include Steve Asmussen and Chad Brown, with two each, and Kenny McPeek, whose duo includes Smile Happy, the 5-1 favorite on the line for the May 7 Derby authored by Marty McGee of Daily Racing Form. Six of the 20 horses are in the Risen Star on Saturday at Fair Grounds.
WHO'S NOT
The 3-year-old colt Smile Happy hasn’t started since late November, but since Jan. 22 his form, impressive enough already, has shined even brighter.
Call Me Midnight, seventh in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 27, won the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 22 at Fair Grounds. On Feb. 5, White Abarrio, third in the Kentucky Jockey Club, won the Holy Bull Stakes by more than four lengths. And Feb. 12, Classic Causeway produced an excellent performance winning the Sam Davis Stakes, his first start since a second-place Kentucky Jockey Club finish.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – There’s perhaps a minor concern exiting the Sam F. Davis Stakes, but overall, the sky seems the limit for Classic Causeway as his 3-year-old season unfolds.
On the lead from the start Saturday in the Grade 3 Davis at Tampa Bay Downs, Classic Causeway was a dominant 3 3/4-length winner under Irad Ortiz Jr. in an effort that simultaneously validated the considerable potential the colt flashed at 2 while making him one of the early favorites for the May 7 Kentucky Derby.
The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, finished as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 3 of the 2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which closed Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern following the customary three-day run.
After the field, the Pool 3 favorites are Smile Happy (8-1), Classic Causeway (13-1), Mo Donegal (14-1), and Emmanuel (15-1).
Grade 3, $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Tampa Bay Downs, Feb. 12, 2022
(10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Classic Causeway, by Giant’s Causeway
Trainer: Brian Lynch
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Owner: Kentucky West Racing and Clarke Cooper
Beyer Speed Figure: 88
California-based trainer Doug O’Neill’s last trip to Fair Grounds was so satisfying he’s coming back for more fun.
Hot Rod Charlie won the Louisiana Derby last March, O’Neill’s first Fair Grounds runner in three years, and three days before Mardi Gras, O’Neill has live horses for the Risen Star and the Rachel Alexandra stakes.
