Thursday, March 19, 2020

Louisiana Derby Stakes Racing Roundup



Recent developments, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, have resulted in the cancellation of numerous sporting events. However, Horse Racing is still in operation at most tracks, minus racing fans. Keeneland cancelled its entire spring meet and Aqueduct suspended live racing until further notice. Churchill Downs has moved the date of Kentucky Derby to September 5 and also reported that soon they will add additional points races to Derby trail to fill the gap from May to September.
This Saturday, the Road to the Kentucky Derby takes us to Fair Grounds Race Course where ENFORCEABLE has been tabbed as the 7-2 morning-line favorite in the 107th running of the $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2). Post time is 5:49 p.m. ET and this is the first year in the Derby’s lengthy history that it will be run at 1 3/16 miles.
Enforceable comes into this race for trainer Mark Casse with a 2-2-2 record in eight starts including a second-place finish in the Risen Star Stakes (G2), Division I. Here’s the video and chart call of that race:

ENFORCEABLE broke a step slow, went three wide on the first turn, moved up on the backstretch, advanced closer while in hand in the three path on the far turn, moved to the four path outside the quarter-pole, was roused while swinging six wide into the stretch and finished with good energy to get the place.

Enforceable ran toward the back of the herd early. At the half he was in ninth place and began to move forward to the far turn when he swung to the outside and made a long, sustained drive to get up for second place.
Tapit, the sire of Enforceable, was a multiple graded stakes winner that compiled a 3-0-0 record in six starts with $557,300 in career earnings.
As a two-year-old, Tapit was undefeated in two starts including a win in the Laurel Futurity (G3).  Tapit was troubled by a lung infection for much of his three-year-old season but he did win the nine-furlong Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) in route to a ninth-place finish in the 2004 Kentucky Derby.
At stud, Tapit has sired numerous graded stakes winners including the Belmont Stakes (G1) champions Tapwrit (2017), Creator (2016) and Tonalist (2014). In addition to Enforceable, other runners on the Derby trail include Frosted, Hansen, Cupid, Ring Weekend, Constitution, Mohaymen and Hofburg.
A full brother to Mohaymen and a half-brother to New Year’s Day, Enforceable is a colt (Hip 76) we profiled at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and he has an A Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile®.
Enforceable has the breeding to win this race. He’s been training well at the Fair Grounds and he has room to take another big step forward in his third start of the season.
A long shot I like is WELLS BAYOU (8-1). He’s trained by Brad Cox and he comes into this race with a 2-1-0 record in four starts including a second-place finish in the Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park. Here’s the video and chart call of that race:

WELLS BAYOU broke alertly, showed the way into the first turn, set an uncontested pace up the backstretch and into the far turn, continued to show the way into the lane toward the inside, responded when the winner came alongside soon after, proved stubborn in the drive, clearly second best.

Wells Bayou led from the start, setting fast fractions to the stretch where he grudgingly relinquished the lead to Silver Prospector who won by one length at the wire.
Lookin at Lucky, the sire of Wells Bayou, was a multiple graded-stakes winner that compiled a 9-1-1 record in 13 starts with $3,307,278 in career earnings.
Undefeated in four starts, Lookin at Lucky scored impressive stakes victories as a two year old in the Best Pal Stakes (G2), Del Mar Futurity (G1) and Norfolk Stakes (G1), before suffering his first loss by a neck to Vale of York in the 2009 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Stakes (G1). He came back from that loss to close the season with a win in the CashCall Futurity Stakes (G1).
As a three year old, Lookin at Lucky won the Rebel Stakes (G2) and he finished third in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) en route to a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Lookin at Lucky went on to earn Classic Champion Thoroughbred honors with a three-quarter length victory in the Preakness Stakes (G1).
Wells Bayou is a colt we profiled as a yearling (Hip 3281) at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and he has an A Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile®. He’s an improving colt and I look for Wells Bayou to take another big step forward in his third start of the season.
CHESTERTOWN (15-1) comes into this race with a 1-2-1 record in four starts for trainer Steve Asmussen including a second-place finish running 11/8 miles last out at the Fair Grounds. Here’s the chart call:

CHESTERTOWN broke a length slowly, was last into the first turn and appeared to not corner well while keen to go on racing on or just off the rail, moved out a bit and advanced two wide between foes into the far turn going two to three wide on that bend, lacked room in behind runners in upper stretch briefly before moving out past the three-sixteenths, once clear ran on well but was too late and missed.

Chestertown ran well for most of the race but in the final yards he appeared to come to life and made a nice move to close ground and narrowly lose by a neck.
Tapit, the sire of Chestertown, was a multiple graded stakes winner that compiled a 3-0-0 record in six starts with $557,300 in career earnings.
As a two-year-old, Tapit was undefeated in two starts including a win in the Laurel Futurity (G3).  Tapit was troubled by a lung infection for much of his three-year-old season but he did win the nine-furlong Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) in route to a ninth-place finish in the 2004 Kentucky Derby.
At stud, Tapit has sired numerous graded stakes winners including the Belmont Stakes (G1) champions Tapwrit (2017), Creator (2016) and Tonalist (2014). Other runners on the Derby trail include Frosted, Enforceable, Hansen, Cupid, Ring Weekend, Constitution, Moyhaymen and Hofburg.
Chestertown has an A+ Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile®. He has the breeding to win this race and room to improve in his third start of the season. Time will tell if he can step up to earn graded stakes honors.
MAJOR FED (8-1), with a 1-1-1 record in three starts, comes into this race for trainer Greg Foley off a second-place finish in the Risen Star Stakes (G2), Division II. Here’s the video and chart call:

MAJOR FED went three wide on the first turn, was rated off the pace, came under urging while three wide on the far turn, was driven five wide into the stretch, pursued the winner in the drive and finished willingly for the place.

Major Fed ran mid-herd tracking the leaders to the far turn to where he swung wide and made up ground but came up short at the wire by one length.
Ghostzapper, a 2012 Hall of Fame inductee and the sire of Major Fed, was an incredibly talented, multiple graded stakes winner that compiled a 9-0-1 record in 11 starts with $3,466,120 in career earnings.
As a two-year-old, Ghostzapper won his maiden special weight debut by nine lengths and was 1-0-0 in two starts. At the age of three, Ghostzapper won the Vosburgh Stakes (G1) and finished third in the King’s Bishop (G1), compiling a 3-0-1 record in four starts.
As a four-year-old, Ghostzapper was undefeated in four starts winning the Tom Fool Handicap (G2), Philip H. Iselin Breeders’ Cup Handicap (G3), Woodward Stakes (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1). In addition, Ghostzapper was selected as the 2004 Eclipse Horse of the Year and Eclipse Champion Older Horse.
In his only start as a five-year-old, Ghostzapper was a 6 ¼ length winner of the one-mile Metropolitan Handicap (G1).
As a stallion, Ghostzapper’s leading lifetime runners include: Shaman Ghost, Moreno, Judy the Beauty, Paulassilverlining, Better Lucky, Stately Victor, Molly Morgan, Contested and McCraken to name a few.
Major Fed has an A Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and he has the breeding to be a factor in this race.
Honorable mention goes to Silver State (6-1), Sharecropper (20-1) and especially the also eligible Mr. Big News (20-1) if he draws into the race.
Sharecropper has a B Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and he’s a colt we profiled as a yearling (Hip 179) at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. Mr. Big News has an A+ Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and he’s a colt we profiled (Hip 3) at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale. He’s the best-bred colt in this herd of runners and, he has the breeding to win this race.


*****

A total of 35 races comprise the Road to the Kentucky Derby. In addition, there are seven races on the European road to the Kentucky Derby and there three races on the Japan road to Derby glory.

2020 KENTUCKY DERBY LEADERBOARD

Ranking, total points, Trainer, Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1. Authentic, 60, Bob Baffert, $300,000
2. Ete Indien, 54, Patrick Biancone, $288,156
3. Nadal, 50, Bob Baffert, $720,000
4. Mischievous Alex, 50, John Servis, $308,410
5. Modernist, 50, Bill Mott, $240,000
6. King Guillermo, 50, Juan Carlos Avila, $217,050
7. +Enforceable, 33, Mark Casse, $344,550
8. Storm the Court, 32, Peter Eurton, $1,196,351
9. Sole Volante, 30, Patrick Biancone, $243,510
10. Thousand Words, 25, Bob Baffert, $205,000
11. Tiz the Law, 22, Barclay Tagg, $456,000
12. Silver Prospector, 21, Steve Asmussen, $661,518
** . Field Pass, 20, Mike Maker, $229,960
13. Excession, 20, Steve Asmussen, $206,000
14. Honor A.P., 20, John Shirreffs, $80,000
15. Major Fed, 20, Greg Foley, $80,000
16. Candy Tycoon, 20, Todd Pletcher, $76,000
17. Untitled, 20, Mark Casse, $67,275
18. Shotski, 19, Jeremiah O’Dwyer, $212,466
19. Independence Hall, 14, Mike Trombetta, $205,000
20. Silver State, 14, Steve Asmussen, $80,000
21. +Azul Coast, 14, Bob Baffert, $80,000
29. +Max Player, 10, Linda Rice, $137,500
34. +Invader, 8, Wesley Ward, $107,140
36. +Scabbard, 6, Eddie Kenneally, $178,000
45. +Wells Bayou, 4, Brad Cox, $150,000
+ Nadal (Hip 1279), Enforceable (Hip 76), Excession (Hip 855), Azul Coast (Hip 1177), Max Player (Hip 929), Invader (Hip 371), Scabbard (Hip 802) and Wells Bayou (Hip 3281) were colts we profiled at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Unlike other companies that provide automatic computer-generated pedigree analysis of yearlings at auction, Classic Champion Thoroughbreds LLC personally handpicks from the sales catalog all yearlings to be profiled at auction based upon their breeding.
          * Mr. Monomoy, with 52 Derby points, is off the Kentucky Derby Trail due to a minor ankle injury. S-King Guillermo was supplemented to the Triple Crown. ** Field Pass, with 20 Derby points, is not nominated to the Triple Crown.


EUROPEAN ROAD LEADERBOARD

Ranking, total points, Trainer, Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1. Chares (GER), 20, Jane Chapple-Hyam, $80,819
2. Crossfirehurricane, 20, Joseph O’Brien, $49,507
3. Kameko, 14, Andrew Balding, $192,894
4. Innisfree (IRE), 14, Aidan O’Brien, $127,856
5. Victor Ludorum, 10, Andre Fabre, $250,958
6. Royal Donarch (IRE), 10, Aidan O’Brien, $115,813
7. Alson (GER), 4, J.P. Carvalho, $135,572
8. Shekhem (IRE), 4, Dermot Weld, $24,068
9. Year of the Tiger (IRE), 3, Aidan O’Brien $36,086
10. Armory (IRE), 2, Aidan O’Brien, $258,793
11. Iberia (IRE), 2, Aidan O’Brien, $25,389
12. Gold Maze (GB), 2, Jessica Harrington, $12,034
13. Mogul (GB), 1, Aidan O’Brien, $111,879
14. Ecrivain (FR), 1, Carlos Laffon-Parias, $69.202
15. Camorra (IRE), 1, Ger Lyons, $3,610


JAPAN ROAD LEADERBOARD

Ranking, total points, Trainer, Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1. Café Pharoah, 30, Noriyuki Hori, $234,290
2. Vacation (JPN), 20, Kenichi Takatsuki, $499,874
3. Tango Beauty (JPN), 12, Masato Nishizono, $329,346
4. Dieu du Vin (JPN), 10, Yukihiro Kato, $159,609
5. Yaugau (JPN), 6, Naosuke Sugai, $182,385
6. Longonot (JPN), 3, Mizuki Takayanagi, $158,202
7. Daimei Corrida (JPN), 2, Naoyuki Morita, $107,736
0. Iolite (JPN), 8, Yoshinori Muto, $246,008
0. T’s Dunk (JPN), 4, Takashi Mizuno, $143,414
0. Shonan Mario (JPN), 4, Shizuya Kato, $96,526
0. Meisho Tensui (JPN), 2, Katsumi Miani, $255,394
0. Aurora Tesoro, 1, Yoshihiro Hatakeyama, $99,395

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