Guillot tries to upset Jim Dandy with front running maiden Laoban

Trying to upset a Grade 1 in Saratoga with a speed horse is something that trainer Eric Guillot knows a thing or two about. In the 2014 Whitney, Guillot saddled the 10-1 Moreno to a front-running victory.

 

The loquacious Cajun will try to employ the same tactics tomorrow with maiden Laoban in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy. 

 

"[Laobon] is almost like a Moreno, but not quite as good," Guillot said Friday morning during training hours. "If you got in front of me, you went too fast, right? Same thing I did for four years with Moreno. I'm not going to reinvent the wheel - the round wheel works best. The only reason I went into this race was because it looks like I'm the speed of the race, and he worked 46 and change last week on a day when the track was heavy.

 

"This is a big dance, and in Louisiana we don't dance to little music," Guillot added.  "I didn't come here to run in no maiden race. Why would I? If he wins a maiden race, from here to the barn over there, it's worth nothing, but if I win the Jim Dandy, he is a stallion, or on his way to being one."