Indiana Derby: Lookin At Lucky Looms Large

Lookin At Lucky’s performance in the $500,000 Indiana Derby (G2) on Saturday at Hoosier Park will determine whether the Smart Strike colt will move forward to take on older horses for the first time in the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) five weeks later at Churchill Downs.

Last year’s champion two-year-old male, Lookin At Lucky is in the driver’s seat to become the first colt since Spectacular Bid in 1979-’80 to repeat as champion three-year-old male. The Smart Strike colt won the Preakness (G1) and Haskell Invitational (G1) Stakes this year but has not raced since his four-length score in the Haskell on August 1 at Monmouth Park.

“We want to see the same horse that we saw at the Haskell,” Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said. “We’ll know when we watch him run. We have to get a good effort out of him. The main thing is to win the race and to watch how he does it.”