Zipse: La. Derby contender Call Me Midnight flies under the radar

The morning line of Saturday's Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby tells the story. Call Me Midnight was made the 6-1 co-third choice, and the horse he beat in his most recent race, Epicenter, was installed as the heavy 7-5 favorite for Fair Grounds’ biggest race.

It has been two months since we saw Call Me Midnight roll down the stretch to get up in the shadow of the wire of the Lecomte Stakes (G3), but it should come as no surprise that the Keith Desormeaux-trained bay colt is getting little respect as he prepares for a rematch with one of the current favorites for the Kentucky Derby.

The son of Midnight Lute never has been a horse to grab much attention. This is a horse who went to public auction four times. Bred at Hartwell Farm in Kentucky, he was sold for only $25,000 at Keeneland as a weanling in November 2019. Ten months later he did not meet his reserve of $37,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. One month after that, he was purchased for a paltry $17,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale. He finally was seen as a horse of at least some potential when he was sold last March as a 2-year-old in training for $80,000.

The horse that few noticed at four different sales didn’t exactly light things up when he made it to the races for owner Peter Cantrell. No better than fourth in his first three starts, Call Me Midnight showed progress by running a good second to Giant Game in a Keeneland maiden race. The winner came right back to be finish third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and Call Me Midnight finally would break his maiden in his fifth career start.

On Nov. 13, Call Me Midnight graduated in impressive style, rallying to win going away by 3 1/4 lengths in a one-mile maiden special weight at Churchill Downs. Perhaps running his horse back a little too soon, Desormeaux brought him back 14 days later in a loaded edition of the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2).

A big long shot in that race, he made a move from the back of the pack but could not sustain the rally, and he struggled home in seventh in his stakes debut. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend feature has since proven to be a key race of the 2021 juvenile season.

Perhaps it was the disappointing result in the Kentucky Jockey Club that prompted Desormeaux to keep the Lecomte winner in the stall for last month’s Risen Star Stakes (G2). While Epiecenter dazzled with a dominating front-running performance in that one, Call Me Midnight was rested in hopes of having a fresh horse for both the Louisiana Derby and the Kentucky Derby.

He won’t be near the 28-1 odds that he was when overlooked in the Lecomte, nor should he be.

Making his seasonal debut two months after his final race as a juvenile, Call Me Midnight came from well back to win the early Kentucky Derby prep. Eighth of nine early, he never looked like he would get there in the Lecomte. He still had a ton to do as the field spun out of the turn. While Epicenter was battling with Pappacap in the Fair Grounds stretch, Call Me Midnight began to really turn it on while six wide.

Still looking beaten in mid-stretch, he gobbled up ground late and nailed his rival in the final strides with veteran rider James Graham in the saddle.

It was a performance that makes you think Call Me Midnight might appreciate the extra furlong of the Louisiana Derby and even the extra furlong and a half of the Kentucky Derby. Or perhaps it was his moment in the sun, aided by strong pace pressure to Epicenter.

Other speed is signed up for the Louisiana Derby, but after the Risen Star performance, it’s easy to wonder whether Epicenter can dominate on the front end once again. The odds will reflect that, though, and to some degree Call Me Midnight will be underappreciated once more.

Doing well since his Lecomte win, Desormeaux seems very pleased with his charge. The trainer, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby and first in the Preakness six years ago with Exaggerator, has Call Me Midnight running on the same rest as when he pulled the upset in January.

He also is working well over the track, as evidenced by strong workouts the last two weeks. He turned in a solid six furlongs on March 12 before a fast four-furlong work in :47.40 on March 19.

The Louisiana Derby offers 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers, and with only 10 points earned in his Lecomte victory, Call Me Midnight still would need points to qualify for the first Saturday in May.

A third-place finish would likely be enough to do the job for qualifying points, but Call Me Midnight might do better than that. He’s flying under the radar, but he also might come flying down the Fair Grounds’ stretch once again.