Rightandjust brings hopes for first Derby to 91-year-old owner
Rightandjust is listed at 15-1 in the morning line for the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. It would not be surprising if his odds climb higher by the time the starting gate pops open.
Wayne T. Davis, his 91-year-old owner, acquired him for $50,000 out of a dominant effort in a Dec. 18 maiden claiming race. He watched him lead throughout an allowance optional claimer on Jan. 16 and win for fun at 22-1.
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Rightandjust will face much stiffer competition than he has ever encountered in his fourth lifetime start. Do not tell Davis about long odds — he has spent a lifetime overcoming them.
He was a newly turned teenager when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. “It scared me to death,” he remembered. He also recalls the immense pride he felt when the U.S. banded together after that devastating attack to overcome a terrifying enemy.
Davis takes enormous satisfaction in being a self-made man who grew up without electricity and indoor plumbing in Plain Dealing, La. “The reason I love this country is you can be part of the American dream,” he said. “I worked my way out of poverty.”
Davis has been in racing for about 20 years. As he sees it, if he is ever going to take a shot at the Kentucky Derby, the time is now. He is a realist who understands that years fly by.
“I don’t have that many left,” he said.
Davis and trainer Shane Wilson have struck gold before. They claimed debuting Mocito Rojo for $10,000 at Delta Downs on Dec. 21, 2016, after the ever-watchful Wilson spotted the impressive youngster on the track one morning. The former claimer has gone on to 18 victories in 34 starts with earnings of $851,263. Mocito Rojo provided Davis with his only graded-stakes victories in 2019, taking the Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star and the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs. Both are Grade 3 events.
Davis said of Mocito Rojo: “In my opinion, he’s one step below Rightandjust.”
Davis has bred horses. He continues to work and is very much a hands-on owner.
“He studies the pedigrees and such. He’s very much a part of the ones we claim,” Wilson said. “He looks through the entries every day and looks for horses, and I do the same thing. We’re looking for something that has a chance to be better than the price we’re running it for.”
Rightandjust jumped out at Davis because of his pedigree. He is a son of the late Awesome Again, a winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. His dam, Pussyfoot, is by two-time Classic winner Tiznow.
Although Rightandjust lacks the seasoning and resume of many of his Risen Star competitors, the 1 1/8-mile distance should be well within his range if he can stay calm before the race, something he has not always done, and if jockey Mitchell Murrill can keep him to a sensible pace.
“He’s kind of a long shot,” Davis said. “I’m sure the odds would be against him, but I know what he can do.”
As for Wilson, he feels indebted to Davis for mentoring him and his two sons in many ways. “He’s been like a grandfather to my two sons,” the trainer said. Peyton, a sophomore at Louisiana State who is majoring in mechanical engineering, has compiled a 4.2 grade-point average. Connor, a high school junior, is an aspiring veterinarian.
They have all learned many things from Davis, including the importance of meeting responsibilities. When Star Prado, one of Davis’ fillies, developed a major eye infection, the least expensive course of action would have been to have the eye removed since there is a long history of horses capable of competing with one eye. Although Davis spent $17,000, the eye was saved.
“I felt obligated to take care of her eye,” Davis said. “I get a lot of gratification from knowing I gave that horse a chance.”
The Risen Star awards Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers on a 50-20-10-5 basis. If Rightandjust should pull an upset, he almost surely would have enough points to advance to the first Saturday in May. Davis has never attended the Derby but said the pandemic would not keep him from Churchill Downs if his 3-year-old should qualify.
“It’s an honor just to be able to run in the race,” he said.