Barn Tour: Brisset is brimming with promising 3-year-olds

Rodolphe Brisset admits that his first winter at Oaklawn Park has been "challenging."

"We may have picked the worst year to come for the first time, because the weather really didn't work with us," Brisset told Horse Racing Nation Monday. "We were a little slow in the first part of the meet just because we had a lot of horses that got claimed. And we rebuilt the barn – the first couple weeks of December, we had to rebuild the barn, and some of the horses were coming to us with no breezes."

Still, his record for the meet is 16: 2-4-3, an in-the-money rate of 56 percent.

And, he said, "in February we started to pick it up a bit more, we ran more seasoned. Everybody ran good. So it's a good starting point. Some horses will have two more races, some horses will have maybe one more."

Then it's back to Brisset's home track, Keeneland, in April.

Brisset has several promising 3-year-olds in his stable. He discussed his top talent for HRN's Barn Tour series.

We the People. The 3-year-old Constitution colt generated buzz with a 5 3/4-length win as the second choice in the wagering in his Feb. 12 debut going a flat mile. Most recently, he breezed four furlongs in 48.4 seconds on Saturday.

"We knew about him for a couple months, we just kind of kept it quiet. We kind of let the horse bring himself on his own and we got lucky with the weather and cancellations and everything and we were able to put him in a race at the beginning of the month of February," Brissett said. "And he looks like he showed us in the afternoon what he showed us in the morning. So that was a really good race and really good effort for the first time out."

As for what's next, "could be an allowance, could be a stakes with (Kentucky Derby qualifying) points. We've just got to see how that plays the next couple of weeks, but he will definitely have a race around mid-March."

Great Escape. The sophomore by Midnight Storm was second in an allowance on Saturday at Oaklawn in his first start since finishing ninth in the Oct. 9 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland.

"We were happy with the race. Looks like he ... got a little tired first off the layoff going a mile and a sixteenth," Brissett said. "Now, looking at the race we felt like he got to race his own way and he was able to level up but not close the deal. So we're going to keep our options open too.

"It depends how he trains the next couple weeks, I guess, but we could be looking at a points race or try to get the allowance out of the way too. So it all depends – he will be more day-by-day training and see how he handled the race and how he handles the next breeze and then go from there."

Barossa. The Into Mischief colt had one win in five starts for Bob Baffert last year and finished in a dead heat for second in an Oaklawn allowance in his first start for Brisset on Feb. 11.

"Barossa is doing really good, likely to come back in an allowance too. Could be at Oaklawn. We don't have a lot of options, but more than likely that will be to go back in an allowance and try to get the one-other–than out of the way and then go from there," Brissett said. "As now, we didn't look at any points race for him after his second place last time. So we can regroup. And talking with Tom Ryan, the manager of the ownership, looks like we will be leaning toward an allowance first and then go from there."

Yuugiri. With a record of 4: 1-2-1, the Shackleford filly finished third in last Saturday's Honeybee (G3) to earn 10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks. It was her first start since finishing second in the Nov. 27 Golden Rod (G2).

"She broke a step slow at first and was kind of flat-footed. And she got a little bit forced in there. And when I saw the fractions 23, 47 – this winter it looks like this is a track where when you get those kinds of fractions, more than likely you will get tired. Even more coming a three-month layoff. So all around, we were looking for a good race.

"We were hoping to run 1-2-3, she did that. We got 10 points on the race coming back from the layoff. She looks like she came out of the race in very good shape. Same – all options open. We will see how she how she trains, but we could stay at Oaklawn, we could get on the road. Likely to go one more race with points for the Oaks, give her a chance to qualify if she's good enough. But no pressure there, we will we let her tell us what to do."

Although he has yet to post a win, Brisset likes what he sees in Western River, a 3-year-old son of Tapit who finished third in a 1 1/16-mile maiden race on Saturday in his first start since September.

"I thought he ran pretty good on Saturday, and he's a full brother of a Belmont Stakes winner (Creator) and a multiple Grade 1 winner in his sire. So we kind of like him. ... That maiden was almost as fast as the Great Escape allowance and actually was faster than the Rebel," Brissett noted. "So it was a good race coming off the layoff, switching so fast. And looks like the horse wants to have more growth like his brother. Creator was a horse wants as long as the race could be, and maybe this horse is the same. Looks like he came out the race good, so we are hoping for a couple lengths better next time. And then he is a May foal, so he will more than likely, hopefully, get better the next couple of weeks, and we will see where he takes us."

Older horses

Harvard. The 4-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile was second by a length in an Oaklawn allowance on Feb. 19 in his first start since July.

"Harvard came back from the layoff, we're extremely happy. We thought he ran a really big race. Same kind of idea, we came back two turns with some fitness but needed the race and he delivered a pretty good effort. Looks like he came back good too.

"So we have options too. We could come back in an allowance, also have a look at the Essex next on the 19th. But we will breeze back next weekend and then go from there. We like where we are at now with with that horse and the fact you have a race under his belt, that's a good thing. And if he can run a couple of lengths better, he could have a really interesting 4-year-old season.

"He didn't change that much from the 3 to the 4. He did get a little bit more mature. and he was a tricky horse last year. But we got him going and it looks like he's taking his job seriously and even more this year. So now we're really happy with the way he's come along for this year."

Beau Luminarie. He raced 11 times at eight tracks last year as a 5-year-old, finishing in the money in each of them.

"We gave him a break after the race on 19 December. We did that on purpose, he got a month off. And then we got a lot of issues with the weather, we lost a lot of training. And it just takes him a little longer to come back the way we want him to be. His last work (on Saturday) was actually much better. So, nothing really picked. We could be looking at a race (after we) get him another three or four works. But with him we don't have any pressure. He's been more than good to us. And so we will monitor his next couple of works and then go from there, decide where to go. And and he will tell us too."

Hozier. Now a 4-year-old, he had 10 starts last year and has been off since October.

"He just came to Oaklawn, obviously we know he likes the track. His last two races were not very good, and we just we just pulled the plug after a long 3-year-old season. The new ownership love racing, and we are planning on trying to bring him back in mid-April at Oaklawn and then from there maybe trying to find a spot at Churchill. But we've got to go race by race. He only had his first breeze today, so it's a long way to go. But the goal will be to try to bring him back in mid-April."