Louisiana Derby Big 3: Uncle Mo, Bernardini & Candy Ride

As an important prep to the 2016 Kentucky Derby, and a million-dollar race in its own right, all eyes will be on the Louisiana Derby late Saturday afternoon. While a solid group of 11 will slug it out in the nine-furlong feature at Fair Grounds, the big race will also feature a battleground of bragging rights for three of America’s most influential sires. A quick scan of the latest rankings of sires by earnings reveals Tapit at his accustomed spot at the top, but not far behind are Bernardini, Candy Ride, and Uncle Mo, and the three have the Louisiana Derby market all but cornered.

If you favor Uncle Mo, you are in with a great chance on Saturday. The eight-year-old son of Indian Charlie is represented by three in the Louisiana Derby, including the morning line favorite. A record-breaking juvenile sire with his first crop, the former Two-year-old Champion only stands at #9 on the earnings list for sires, but with only one crop of racing age, he has far less runners on the track than the more experienced stallions. Standing at Ashford Stud for Coolmore America, his first crop has been phenomenal, and he has only gotten hotter as we move through the first three months of 2016. With the consistent late runner, Mo Tom, who will be looking to avenge his unlucky loss in the Risen Star, Uncle Mo probably has the horse to beat in the signature race at Fair Grounds.

If the morning line favorite cannot get it done, Uncle Mo still will see his seed represented by Forevamo and Uncle Walter. The former ran a huge race to be a fast closing second most recently in the Risen Star for trainer Al Stall, Jr. while the latter will look to forget his most recent performance by donning blinkers on Saturday. Besides Mo Tom, Forevamo, and Uncle Walter, Uncle Mo is also the sire of Nyquist. The Juvenile Champion of 2015 will put his perfect record on the line next week in a showdown with Mohaymen in the Florida Derby.

Candy Ride, meanwhile, currently stands at #4 among sires in earnings, with his sons and daughters having banked just a hair under $2 million already in 2016. A dynamic runner on the track, Candy Ride was a Grade 1 winner who retired unbeaten in six career starts. Bred in Argentina, the 17-year-old son of Ride the Rails has proven to be an equally outstanding success as a stallion. Standing at Lane’s End Farm, Candy Ride has an interesting group ready for the Louisiana Derby. While Mo Tom is the morning line favorite, plenty of action is sure to come in on Gun Runner, who was the winner of the most recent prep in New Orleans.

The half-length victory in the Risen Star was his third win in four starts, and also represented his first go in 2016. Improvement off that effort puts him in with a big shot on Saturday. The horse he went by early in the lane that afternoon was another son of Candy Ride, Candy My Boy. The dangerous speed horse set down fast early fractions in the Risen Star and was not embarrassed late. He also boasts two straight wins at Fair Grounds before moving up in class last time. Finally, Candy Ride is not his sire, but as a son of Misremembered, Dazzling Gem is a grandson of Candy Ride, and like his grandsire, he sports a perfect record. Although he has only run twice, I absolutely loved what I saw in his Oaklawn Park wins, and I believe he has a big shot on Saturday. Besides these three, Candy Ride could be poised for a monster day. He is also the sire of Chocolate Ride, who looms the one to beat in the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial on the Fair Grounds turf, and Eagle, the 2-1 morning line favorite in the same day’s Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap.

Last, but not least, we cannot forget about Bernardini. The three-year-old champion of 2006 stands at Darley America, and is currently America’s #2 sire by earnings. While the locals may take some beating, the shipper from the Dominick Schettino barn, Greenpointcrusader might just be the colt up to the task. A Grade 1 winner already, when he scored an impressive victory in last autumn’s Champagne Stakes, the dark bay son of Bernardini has only run once as a three-year-old, but it was a very solid second behind the current Kentucky Derby favorite, Mohaymen at Gulfstream Park. Eight weeks removed from that performance, he figures to be raring to go in his first try at Fair Grounds and is an obvious class threat in here.

While Greenpointcrusader is the most accomplished son of Bernardini in the field, it would be silly to dismiss an up and coming Todd Pletcher trainee from any Kentucky Derby prep. To that point, Battery is one that needs to be respected in the Louisiana Derby. This will be his stakes debut, but he comes in off a win-second-win in his last three in South Florida, including a last-out victory in a nine-furlong optional claimer in solid time. Champion rider Javier Castellano will be in the saddle. Besides these two, and his long list of older and female stakes winners, Bernardini is also the sire of another pair of promising Kentucky Derby hopefuls in Shagaf and Zulu.