Plenty of Interesting Options in the 2016 Louisiana Derby
The $1,000,000 Louisiana Derby will be run this Saturday at Fair Grounds. Besides the attractive purse, the signature horse race of New Orleans also will be the first of the 2016 Kentucky Derby points races run in the United States with 170 (100-40-20-10) points on the line. With those two factors in place, it should come as no surprise that a solid group of 11 will meet in the starting gate this weekend to see who is best. The nine-furlong affair will feature a strong mix of local runners, as well as intriguing new shooters, making it one of the more interesting Derby preps of the year from a handicapping perspective.
Made a slight favorite at 5-2 on the morning line, Mo Tom looks to avenge his unlucky loss in the Risen Star. From the Tom Amoss barn, the two-time stakes winner ran a bang up race last time considering the big trouble he encountered while rallying in mid-stretch. Once clear of the issue, the LeComte winner finished like a horse afire. Beaten only 1 ½-lengths last time, the consistent late runner surely lost that much, and more, when checked at a key juncture. Corey Lanerie, who has ridden the son of Uncle Mo in his last five starts, will again be in the saddle, and the pair will leave from post six. Since the Risen Star, the morning line favorite has been working very well over the local oval.
While Mo Tom may have been unlucky, it was actually Gun Runner who won the $400,000 race last time. Made the 3-1 second on the morning line this time, the son of Candy Ride will break from the rail with Florent Geroux up. While his lead was shrinking fast in the Risen Star, keep in mind that it was his first start of the year after winning two of three as a juvenile. Improvement here makes the Steve Asmussen trained runner a real threat to double up down in the Big Easy.
Also coming off solid performances in the Risen Star are Forevamo and Candy My Boy. The former outran his 40-1 odds in the Louisiana Derby prep with a big race that saw him beaten only a diminishing half-length on the wire. From the barn of the Breeders’ Cup winning trainer, and New Orleans native, Al Stall, Jr., Forevamo is a son of one of the hottest sires in the nation in Uncle Mo. Drawn to the extreme outside position of post 11 for the Derby, the winner of the Jean Laffite Futurity looms a factor if he runs back to his latest try.
While Forevamo finished with a flourish in the Risen Star, it was Candy My Boy who set down all the early fractions that afternoon. After running fast early, the Roger Brueggemann-trained son of Candy Ride stayed on well to be fourth, beaten just 2 1/4-lengths. Before the Risen Star, he scored two straight wins at Fair Grounds, and his since been flattered by the two second place finishers, Creator (third in the Rebel) and Forevamo. Francisco ‘Cisco’ Torres will try to conserve the front runner’s speed for the latter stages of the million-dollar race.
While the locals will take some beating, there are several shippers capable of doing just that. The Dominick Schettino trained Greenpointcrusader is one of the more interesting characters in the Louisiana Derby cast. A Grade 1 winner of last autumn’s Champagne Stakes, the son of Bernardini actually went to the post a slight favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but an indifferent trip saw him only rally to finish in the middle of the pack that afternoon at Keeneland. Away since the end of January, Greenpointcrusader has only run once as a three-year-old, and was a solid second best behind the current Kentucky Derby favorite, Mohaymen in Gulfstream Park’s Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes. The 7-2 third choice on the morning line, John Velazquez will ride the two-time winner for the second straight race, and the pair will break from the two-hole.
While the likes of Mo Tom, Gun Runner, and Greenpointcrusader loom the favorites, the Brad Cox-trained Dazzling Gem, 12-1 on the morning line, should not be overlooked. The good looking son of Misremembered is undefeated in two starts at Oaklawn Park, and was impressive both times. He was forced to miss last week’s $900,000 Rebel Stakes due to a minor foot abscess, but has since come back with two solid works over the Arkansas oval. Not only does he hail from a hot barn, but several horses who he has beaten in his first two starts, have come back to run well since. Odds anywhere near his morning line make him a very interesting prospect in New Orleans.
As we move closer to the Kentucky Derby, Todd Pletcher is heating up, just as he usually does. In the Louisiana Derby, the multiple Eclipse Award winning trainer will saddle Battery. At 10-1 on the morning line, the winner of two of his last three comes in off a nice win at the same nine-furlong trip that he will see again on Saturday. That came in an optional claimer at Gulfstream Park. The time before that he finished second to Cherry Wine, who just rallied to finish fourth in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Top rider Javier Castellano will ride the son of Bernardini for the fourth consecutive race.
Another interesting contestant coming in off a win for a big stable is Conquest Windycity. Owned by Conquest Stables and trained by Mark Casse, the son of Tiznow has won two in a row, including a one-mile Oaklawn allowance last out. He’s been firing bullets at Oaklawn Park since then, but arrived at Fair Grounds last week to become acclimated to the oval. Joe Rocco, Jr. will again have the mount.
Rounding out the field for this year’s Louisiana Derby will be a trio of Risen Star also-rans. Zapperini, a son of Ghostzapper, closed from last to finish a non-threatening fifth at odds of 47-1, after breaking his maiden at Fair Grounds in his previous start. Tom’s Ready was second to Mo Tom in the LeComte, but could only manage a well-beaten seventh in the Risen Star, and finally, Uncle Walter ran the first bad race of his life when 11th, beaten more than 40 lengths, but the son of Uncle Mo will add blinkers this time around.