Enforceable's camp seeks 'solid' Louisiana Derby pace
John Oxley’s Enforceable, who won the Lecomte Stakes (G3) in advance of a second place run behind the recently sidelined Mr. Monomoy in the first division of the Risen Star (G2), has been tabbed as a 7-2 morning line favorite in Fair Grounds' final 2020 Kentucky Derby prep.
The Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby boasts a full field Saturday. Previously run over nine furlongs on dirt, the race has extended to 1 3/16s miles and serves as the season's first Derby points race offering payouts on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the top-four finishers.
Third last fall in Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity (G1), then fourth in Churchill Downs' Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) with a bit of a troubled trip, the gray son of Tapit scored as the Lecomte's 6-1 fifth choice, sitting behind an honest pace before closing late to win by 1 ½ lengths. He displayed the same sort of late rally in the Risen Star, but the early fractions went slower that day, allowing Mr. Monomoy to wire the field.
With 33 Kentucky Derby points already in the bank, Enforceable will break from post ten with jockey Julien Leparoux back aboard.
“I think he’s doing as good, if not better coming into the Louisiana Derby than he was going into the Risen Star,” said David Carroll, assistant trainer on the grounds for Mark Casse. “He had a good breeze Saturday morning.
"Ideally, we’d like to have a solid pace in front of us. He’s a horse that gets into a steady rhythm and Julien (Leparoux) has a lot of confidence in him. It’s naturally a stepping stone. As the distances are extended, I think it play even more in his favor.”
Dismissed at odds of 12-1 in the second division of the Risen Star off just a maiden win at Aqueduct, Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Wygod’s Modernist was forwardly placed every step on the way while down along the rail. When the dust settled, he had held off the late charge of Major Fed to score the upset as Anneau d’Or, the even-money favorite, finished ninth.
“I guess we found out he has a little more natural speed than we thought,” trainer Bill Mott said. “Early from the gate, he put himself in good position. It was also the second time he won going 1 1/8 miles, so he seems to get the distance OK and has plenty of stamina. He’s a lightly raced horse, but every race has been just a little bit better. If you look at it, the progression has been very nice. It hasn’t been drastic but it’s coming a nice even keel. Nothing spectacular, but it’s the way you like to see it. We’re not there yet.”
This time, Modernist will have to contend with post 14, with another rail trip unlikely. Mott cited a "Kentucky Derby-type run down to the first turn" with a large field and longer distance, providing time to establish position.
“Before we even ran him, he was working good,” Mott said of the Uncle Mo colt. “After we ran him the first time, he really began to pick up the pace. In his second race he finished third but his works had already started to improve going into that. Going into his third race, we had some stop and go stuff. We had him in and then he was sick and we had to scratch him and then we had to wait a little while to run him back and break his maiden but everything has gone smoothly since then.”