Kentucky Derby 2019 Daily: Lecomte favorite 'an ideal horse'
Welcome to Horse Racing Nation’s Kentucky Derby Daily, which will each day leading up to the May 4 race at Churchill Downs detail all the news and notes related to contenders in one convenient space.
Brendan Walsh considers this too early to get excited about the 2019 Kentucky Derby, but the trainer has an improving prospect in Plus Que Parfait, who nearly caught Signalman last out in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.
Plus Que Parfait has worked consistently since then at New Orleans’ Fair Grounds, and he’ll be in the full field of 14 next weekend as the Derby trail resumes with the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte Stakes. It’s the ideal opportunity to step up, as no Lecomte runner boasts a previous stakes win.
Signlaman beat the the son of Point of Entry by just a neck in his last race.
“But we’re not too far away from him,” said Walsh, who trains the Lecomte’s 9-2 morning line favorite. “I think if we’re up to that, we’re not too far away from the land of nice colts. I think he’s a nice horse. Hopefully he progresses and keeps going the right way, and who knows?”
Walsh also considered the Imperial Racing-owned ridgling for a one-other-than allowance race but ultimately went with the Lecomte after his horse’s recent series of works. Rain over the holidays made it difficult to squeeze a breeze in, but Plus Que Parfait has drilled twice in the new year, most recently getting five furlongs in 1:01.80 on Saturday.
“We backed off him a little after the Jockey Club for a couple of weeks,” Walsh said recently, with Plus Que Parfait’s first work back about a month after that start.
The horse began his career over Ellis Park’s turf before switching to dirt at Churchill Downs, finishing third both times. He then stretched out to 1 1/16 miles around two turns at Keeneland and won by a nose.
While he stalked the pace in his maiden win, Plus Que Parfait was far back in the Kentucky Jockey Club over a sloppy track. Signalman sat mid-pack and held off Plus Que Parfait by a neck.
“I think he did progress well on through the year,” Walsh said. “It was nice, just the way he came along from race to race, and I think he ran really well. He got beat by a very good horse, who also probably had a little more seasoning than him.
“At the head of the straight, I thought we were going to nearly get it done, but (trainer) Kenny (McPeek)’s horse, he dug in. He found a little more.”
Plus Que Parfait was 14-1 in the Kentucky Jockey Club, while Signalman was the second choice after placing twice in Grade 1 company.
Bred by Calloway Stables, Plus Que Parfait RNA’d as a weanling at the Keeneland November Sale for $24,000. He came back next September as a yearling and was purchased for $135,000.
“He’s a really nice temperament,” Walsh said of working with Plus Que Parfait. “He does what he needs to do. He’s an ideal horse that way. He’s been very easy to be around and to train. Hopefully it’ll continue.”
More on the Lecomte
The next points-paying race on the Derby trail pays out on a 10-4-2-1 scale. With the morning line set, check out our analysis for next weekend’s race at Fair Grounds.
• Joe Sharp-trained Malpais is among the maiden winners both getting a two-turn debut and stepping up to stakes in the Lecomte. Says Sharp: “He’s just very mentally sound, so it helps him to conserve energy.”
• The Lecomte precedes Oaklawn Park’s Smarty Jones. Contenders are working toward that race, too, namely among the locals Gray Attempt, who brings “a lot of class” off his last-out stakes win.
• Call Paul, a multiple stakes winner, is expected to sprint again next weekend in Tampa Bay Downs’ Pasco Stakes. If he runs to his past performances, connections may have a decision to make in terms of the Derby trail.
Saturday’s Derby Daily report featured an interview with George Weaver, about Nashua (G3) winner Vekoma’s return to the work tab and prep race plans.