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FAIR GROUNDS NOTEBOOK MARCH 6, 2008 by Steve Collison LOUISIANA DERBY The 95th running of the Louisiana Derby (G2) will be the ninth race on a 12-race card this coming Saturday and will be the richest day of racing in Louisiana history, with stakes purses totaling $2.3 million. The likely favorite will be PYRO (Pulpit), who was an impressive winner of the Risen Star S. (G3) earlier this meet and in my opinion looks to be an legitimate star on the rise who will be hard to deny in this contest. His dazzling last-to-first score last month over this same surface was an eye-catching performance that illustrated the serious potential this talented horse brings to the table. Since Pyro finished second in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) behind eventual Eclipse Award winner WAR PASS (Cherokee Run), those two sophomore colts have quickly become the two monsters of the three-year-old crop so far this year. The Barclay Tagg-trained TALE OF EKATI (Tale of the Cat) and Bill Mott-conditioned MAJESTIC WARRIOR (A.P. Indy), who were graded stakes winners as juveniles, will be making their seasonal debuts in the Louisiana Derby. Tale of Ekati captured the Futurity (G2) at Belmont Park before finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile while Majestic Warrior won the Hopeful (G1) last summer at Saratoga, but has subsequently not started since finishing sixth in Belmont's Champagne (G1). BLACKBERRY ROAD (Gone West), who finished second in the Lecomte (G3) before finishing fifth in the Risen Star after a horrendous trip, looks to be the sleeper and is one who I'd keep an eye on at a price. NEW ORLEANS HANDICAP Also of interest on Saturday will be last year's Louisiana Derby winner, CIRCULAR QUAY (Thunder Gulch), who is expected to try for a rare double by winning the $500,000 New Orleans H. (G2). However, it won't be easy as the colt will have to get past William S. Farish's homebred GRASSHOPPER (Dixie Union) to become only the fourth horse in history to accomplish this feat. Grasshopper, second by a half-length to Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Street Sense in last summer's Travers S. (G1) at Saratoga, returned to action as a four-year-old by winning the Mineshaft H. (G3) here on February 9, using that as a prep race for the New Orleans. SILVER LORD (Unbridled's Song), second to Grasshopper in the Mineshaft, is also expected to try again in the upcoming New Orleans. TRACK SURFACE Hopefully track superintendent Javier Barajas can maintain the main oval in the same manner in which he has over the past several weeks. After struggling to keep the surface uniform earlier in this meet, Barajas and his crew have done an excellent job of getting it under control of late. If all remains the same by Saturday then the big race will be won by the best horse without any undue influence from the track surface. NOTES In the continuing saga of jockey JULIEN LEPAROUX, the Frenchman continues to ride at an awesome clip while dominating his rivals here at Fair Grounds. On Thursday, he completed another hat trick when winning three races to raise his abbreviated Fair Grounds win total to 24 wins from just 108 mounts. After circling rivals at the head of the stretch, Leparoux piloted Macho Again (Macho Uno) to a 4 1/2-length victory in Thursday's $40,500 feature race to complete the triple for the afternoon. Macho Again, the odds-on choice in the wagering, accomplished six furlongs in 1:11.54 and increased his career earnings to $70,192 while scoring his second win in six lifetime starts. Earlier, Leparoux captured the 3RD race aboard Tensas Why Gin (Whywhywhy) and the 8TH race on Pimentinha (Wild Event). TRAINER PROFILE BILL MOTT obviously isn't simply a Fair Grounds trainer, but has a far-reaching effect over many of the country's main circuits, so what is listed here can be valuable at most of those venues. When people say Mott, they naturally think turf, or more precisely turf stakes. However, there's much more to Mott's influence then those who run over the grass, although that's certainly not a bad place to start. That's especially true considering his overall win rate over the lawn is a hefty 22 percent, with more than half of those finishing in the money. Much of this success comes with his runners going in non-graded stakes company, which is an area where his runners tend to dominate over the competition. While finding a square price is a legitimate concern, it can be done if concentrating on fillys who are coming off extended layoffs. Workouts typically can be taken at face value as someone of Mott's statue is only interested in seeing how well his horse is doing, not in duping anyone. In that vein, when a Mott runner shows a sizzling drill just prior to running it does signify a horse who's feeling his oats and should be treated accordingly. However, besides workouts Mott does extremely well with his grass runners when prepping them with dirt sprints, which is why he shows a positive rate of return with horses going sprint to route while simultaneously moving to the green. This pattern is particularly effective when used in conjunction with young runners as Mott frequently starts his runners out with a dirt sprint when in fact he's pointing to a turf route in their second career start. That helps explain his low numbers with first-time starters when compared to layoffs as they simply aren't being asked for serious run but rather are being given racing experience along with added conditioning. RECENT CLAIMS TO WATCH Thursday (2/28) 8TH -- TAP TAP ANTOINETTA (Pleasant Tap) returned from a lengthy layoff only to be claimed by trainer Tom Amoss. This is exactly the type of claim that Amoss excels with and the new stable has a wide set of options with this versatile runner. Friday (2/29) 6TH -- SOLITARY SONG (Waquoit) turned in a solid performance while being claimed by high-powered trainer Bret Calhoun. The seven-year-old mare goes from a weak operation to an extremely capable one, and I can readily see this horse improving dramatically and quickly. Saturday (3/1) 2ND -- LEESVILLE (Leestown) was well backed but failed to get untracked when being forced to race wide after breaking from an extreme outside post. Nonetheless, the lightly raced four-year-old still turned in a deceptively sound performance and was claimed by capable trainer Patrick Mouton. 4TH -- TEA TAX (Boston Harbor) pressed a sizzling pace throughout this race to be just nipped despite being away for nearly two months. The lightly raced six-year-old gelding was claimed by trainer Harry Hahn, who appears to have made a timely purchase. Sunday (3/2) 1ST -- CURSESANDBLESSINGS (Stephen Got Even) turned in an encouraging performance while getting claimed by trainer Eric Heitzmann, who appears to have been in the right place at the right time. HORSES TO WATCH Thursday (2/28) 4TH -- LORD OF SOUL (Ecton Park) came off a two-month vacation while getting blinkers off and turned in an encouraging performance despite getting roughed up by the eventual winner. The colt figures to move forward off this performance. Friday (2/29) 4TH -- CAMPSIS (Mutakddim) was able to win in a gritty performance for trainer Steve Asmussen. The first-time starter scored despite having a less then stellar trip and the Asmussen barn does much better with runners going their second time around. Watch for this one to stretch out successfully very soon. 7TH -- VISIBLE TRUTH (Silver Deputy) was only able to make one start before moving to the sidelines. The expensively bred four-year-old colt returned here after being away for more than a year and exploded to post a powerful win for new trainer Asmussen. This horse not only won but did so in first gear and galloped out in powerful fashion while clearly having tons left to offer. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a stakes fresh off this maiden score and be successful at inflated odds. 10TH -- ASHLEE'S MOM (Alphabet Soup) was pounded at the windows despite showing absolutely nothing when making her debut last out, so someone clearly knew something we didn't. Although a troubled trip kept them from cashing in on their inside information, they still obviously knew what they we're talking about as this sophomore miss turned in a superb performance to gain the place. She could get redemption next time around. Saturday (3/1) 2ND -- HALF A MARINI (Storm and a Half) managed to turn in a solid performance while making his career debut here despite trainer Sam David hitting at only a meek 5 percent with his first-time starters. I can easily see him moving forward in a strong way next out, which makes him a factor to be reckoned with. 3RD -- CLOUDS IN THE SKY (Straight Man) broke her maiden last out and was then immediately thrust into the deep end of the pool against these stakes runners. Despite the obvious issues, she managed to run second against an eventual winner who has been running successfully in stakes for several months. Although the filly didn't win here, she still sent notice that she has a bright and promising future. Sunday (3/2) 2ND -- FRESH SHEET (Meadowlake) made her belated career debut and, despite breaking from the disadvantageous rail post, still trounced this maiden special weight in handy fashion. The four-year-old filly did so in such a way to suggest that a repeat is easily within her grasp when going against open company. BEWARE OF THESE Friday (2/29) 1ST -- I'm reluctant to add the hard-knocking ASK THE LORD (Lord at War [Arg]) to any negative listing as he has earned and deserves all the respect possible. However, after taking a sharp drop in class back in September, he was never raised above the nickel claiming level no matter how well he was doing, which indicates several different operations figured any race could prove his last. Furthermore, he's always been at his best over this Fair Grounds surface and I doubt he will continue his current top form when moving to another circuit. PURE OXYGEN (Pure Prize) couldn't have went any slower on the front end here without actually backing up, yet he was still unable to do any better then a weak third. It's hard to envision any scenario where he could do any better.
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