Curly Jack, Hoosier Philly offer Ky. Derby, Oaks hopes for Amoss

If nothing else, Saturday will be a learning opportunity for Tom Amoss.

The veteran trainer has Curly Jack in the Risen Star (G2) and Hoosier Philly in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) at Fairgrounds. If they win, they will earn 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby and Oaks, respectively.

Curly Jack, a Good Magic colt owned by Michael McLoughlin, has a record of 6: 2-2-0 and has earned 17 Derby points. Hoosier Philly, a daughter of Into Mischief owned by Gold Standard Racing Stable, is undefeated in three starts and has 10 Oaks points.

Both had their last start Nov. 26 at Churchill Downs. Curly Jack finished second to Instant Coffee in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), and Hoosier Philly won the Golden Rod (G2) by five lengths.

Then they took a month off at a Florida farm. “That was by design,” Amoss told Horse Racing Nation on Monday. “At that time, we were hoping they would have pretty strong 3-year-old campaigns. And so we wanted to give them a little bit of a break. Kind of let them be regular horses, turn out in the day, come in at night. And we still have very, very strong aspirations to have a strong 3-year-old campaign.”

Since returning from the farm, Curly Jack has had four works at Fair Grounds and Hoosier Philly has had three.

“They're not the same kinds of horses,” Amoss said. “So I wouldn't put a lot of emphasis on how many works or how many official works each horse has had.We're very comfortable where they are in fitness going into their 3-year-old debuts.”

Curly Jack won his first start, and he won the Iroquois (G3) in September. But he was fifth in the Sanford (G3) and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He also finished second in the Ellis Park Juvenile.

Amoss explained the colt’s inconsistency.

“The one thing about Curly Jack was that mentally, throughout his 2-year-old campaign, he really did not understand competition very well. A glaring example of that would be his race at Ellis Park, in the Ellis Park Juvenile. He actually made the lead in that race, and the horse that he passed came back and got him right at the wire. And that was just him waiting on horses. So we thought more racing would benefit him in terms of understanding competition.

“So when we got to the Breeders Cup, I made a mistake. And I watched the track that day. And I really thought there was no chance to win unless you were close. And I changed his style that race, and it was costly.

“Our original plan was after that race to give him his time for his 3-year-old races and I changed my mind to try to get back on track. His last race was his best. He ran in a paceless race, he got trapped down the rail, and then stuck. And when he finally got out, he really came running at the end, and certainly Instant Coffee's Lecomte flattered that race.”

Now, Amoss said, Curly Jack “is a stronger version of what he was at 2, which I also see in Hoosier Philly, and that's natural, they're older. And we'll see how it translates. Let's not kid around here. I mean, he's got Derby points, but he's got to become better than what he was at 2 to be a Derby contender.”

Hoosier Philly, meanwhile, has been “very easy to work with,” Amoss said. “She's straightforward, sound and all you've got to do is paint the picture and she does what you tell her to do. I'm lucky to have one like her.”

Amoss said he didn’t want to be overconfident ahead of Saturday’s races.

“Saturday's races are going to tell you who they are and how they're doing. And I feel like we're going to get a real positive response from both of them, but I'm really kind of trying to be tempered until they run.”