Fair Grounds Barn Notes: Gun Runner Works at Meydan

By Michael Adolphson —-

• Gun Runner Works at Meydan
• Guest Suite Looking to Upgrade in Louisiana Derby
• Cool Arrow Shooting for Return to Form
• Daria’s Angel to Step up in Fair Grounds Oaks
• Team Casse Pleased with Tour de Force

GUN RUNNER WORKS AT MEYDAN

Winchell Thoroughbreds’ and Three Chimneys Farm’s Gun Runner got a feel for the Meydan dirt course on Monday morning at approximately 7:00 a.m. local time in Dubai. The son of Candy Ride (Arg) worked a half-mile in 49.80 with Steve Asmussen’s top assistant Scott Blasi watching on horseback.

The winner of the 2016 Grade II $1,000,000 Louisiana Derby enters the world’s second-richest race in the best form of his career, having demolished the Grade III $500,000 Razorback Handicap last out at Oaklawn Park and winning his first Grade I a race prior in the $500,000 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs. The compact and consistent chestnut seeks his first victory at America’s classic distance of 1¼ miles, a trip over which he has twice finished third, including in the Grade I $2,000,000 Kentucky Derby last May and Grade I $1,500,000 Travers Stakes the following August.

Regular rider and leading local jockey Florent Geroux rides.

GUEST SUITE LOOKING TO UPGRADE IN LOUISIANA DERBY

William S. Farish and Lora Jean Kilroy’s homebred Guest Suite appears to be slipping under the radar already for the Grade II $1,000,000 Louisiana Derby, despite never throwing a bad effort and a steady string of sharp works. The 3-year-old gelded son of Quality Road was a well-supported 7-2 in the Grade II $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 25 and closed from 13 lengths back to finish 4½ lengths behind Joe Sharp-trained upstart Girvin. Guest Suite was exiting a career-best performance when winning the Grade III $200,000 Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 21, an effort that was his third career victory within a now six-race career in which he has consistently faced top competition.

Trainer Neil Howard is both cautiously optimistic and realistically confident in his reliable charge. The Kentucky-bred reinforced such with a bullet work this past Tuesday, going five panels in 1:00.60 with his veteran conditioner looking on from the outer rail. The move was his third bullet from his last four works, though it must be stated that his drills usually happen on Tuesdays, a day when there are far fewer workers at Fair Ground Race Course & Slots.

“I really think the work went well for him,” Neil Howard said. “I’m very pleased. He’s been training really well since the Risen Star. We kind of laid a plan out since the race and so far he’s done everything we have asked, especially in his works.

“To be honest with you, I was happy to see more of the same (big effort) from him,” Howard said of the Risen Star. “I think he’s done great so far and you can’t win every race. I think both his efforts this year were good and I think he ran very well in the Risen Star. If anything, and hindsight is what it is, he may have been a little far back for his liking, but I’m not sure there was too much to be done about that and he gave a big effort.”

Prior to winning the Lecomte, Guest Suite — who has been ridden by Robby Albarado in all six career starts, including a trio of victories and two third-place finishes — was third to divisional leader McCraken in the $80,000 Street Sense going a one-turn mile at Churchill Downs. In two-turn races, his only loss was the Risen Star from three tries and his stamina was on display in the Risen Star, itself, when appeared to briefly look like he may hang, but then found another gear to drive home well in the final sixteenth and nearly snag the show spot from highly regarded Local Hero.

“On the (Kentucky) Derby trail, it’s rare that you win every race and I’d just like to see him keep looking good on the track and, just as important if not more, I want to see him with a great appetite and physical well-being about him. Those are all the things you look for in any horse, but especially with a horse of this caliber.

“His pedigree suggests that it’s better the farther he goes and I think he has shown that,” Howard concluded. “Very few if any have gone a mile and an eighth, but we think he should like it and we think that’s a positive. It’s also nice to see him have such consistency. I love that about him and I’m very happy with what he’s done so far. It’ll be a field full of good horses, so we’ll hope for the best.”

COOL ARROW SHOOTING FOR RETURN TO FORM

Brad Grady’s Cool Arrow has some options for his next start. Trainer Joe Sharp has two distinctly different routes he may take with the son of Into Mischief The multiple stakes-winning charge is under consideration for both the $75,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park and the $100,000 Rushaway Stakes at Turfway Park the same day. The former event is at 6½ furlongs on the main track at said Hallandale Beach, Florida racecourse. The latter is at 1 1/16 miles on the Polytrack of Turfway Park.

“We are looking at both of those races for Cool Arrow,” Sharp confirmed. “He’s training well and has worked well the last few weeks with Girvin and we know Girvin is a very good horse.”

Speaking of Girvin, Cool Arrow looks to rebound from a poor effort in the Grade II $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 25, a race in which Girvin made a massive splash onto the Kentucky Derby trail with a victory. Cool Arrow, who was likely feeling residual effects of a sickness over the winter, was a non-factor that day, not showing his usual early foot.

In seven starts, the bay colt has three victories and a pair of runner-up finishes. The decision process for the aforementioned next races is likely to be a tough one for Grady and Sharp, as the Kentucky-bred has a stakes victory at a six-furlong sprint and one at a two-turn mile. Each of those races happened at Remington Park — the Listed $75,000 Kip Deville Stakes on Sept. 25 Oklahoma Derby undercard and the Listed $300,000 Springboard Mile two starts and nearly three months later on Dec. 11 of his juvenile season. Sandwiched between those two efforts was a solid second in the restricted $300,000 Spendthrift Stallion Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Overall, the maternal grandson of top handicap horse Mr. Purple has made a respectable showing thus far with a pair of stakes victories, two Equibase speed figures above 90 and $282,835 in earnings. He and Girvin, with Sharp aboard Cool Arrow and Rosie Napravnik aboard Girvin, worked five furlongs in 1:01 flat on Saturday morning.

DARIA’S ANGEL TO STEP UP IN FAIR GROUNDS OAKS

Perhaps the most intriguing probable for the Grade II $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks is eye-opening maiden winner Daria’s Angel from the ever-dangerous Bret Calhoun shedrow. The daughter of Gemologist has raced twice during the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots meet and three times in her career, but it was not until stretching to two turns on Feb. 18 that Daria’s Angel got her wings.

Breaking alertly, the dark bay filly out of the Indian Charlie mare R Charlie’s Angel immediately established a lead through a respectable half-mile in 48.06. Allowed to relax around the turn and hit the six-furlong mark in 1:13.24 under Florent Geroux, she dismantled her rivals in the final furlong, showing immense acceleration between the quarter and eighth-pole and cantering under the wire an eight-length winner in 1:43.24. In the process, she earned a 102 Equibase Speed Figure — four points higher than local divisional leader Farrell would earn going a mile and a sixteenth one week later. She now, though not completely by design, will have a chance to see what she can do against said fellow route-loving speedster.

“Honestly we tried to get her in an allowance race, but sadly it wouldn’t go, but we have a lot of confidence in the filly,” Calhoun said. “Ideally I was trying to run her in an allowance three weeks after the race and then have the same gap to the Oaks if she ran well against those. We’ve had to go with Plan-B and go right into the Oaks. We’ll test the waters in there.

“She was pretty convincing the other day in her maiden win,” Calhoun concluded. “We’ve known she wants to go long for a while and she proved it. We think she has a lot of talent.”

TEAM CASSE PLEASED WITH TOUR DE FORCE

The Mark Casse barn has done exceedingly well in its first meet with a full barn at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Batting at or around 25% for the meet, the local string is headed by assistant David Carroll and has struck with an array of horses. Few of those have been as exciting, though, as Tour de Force. Flashy as a horse can be on paper, the 4-year-old son of Tiznow out of Grade I winner and top sprinter Dream Supreme, he is a $135 million sale purchase and half-brother to Grade I winner Majestic Warrior, who has gone on to become a useful sire. Late to get started in his career, owing much to his large size, Tour de Force is a massive creature, standing more than 17 hands and with conformation so shockingly proportionate that Casse has stated the dark bay is “the most beautiful horse I’ve ever trained.”

Owned by a partnership between John C. Oxley and breeder Kinsman Stable, the latter of which raced his dam, Tour de Force’s talent has been on display this winter in New Orleans, with four starts at the 2016-17 meet to kick off his career. After a solid second on debut in a sloppy six-furlong December maiden, he returned to graduate on the grass, reveling in the move to a route in January. He then defeated winners on the dirt in a mile and 70-yard main track event in February. On Friday, he was tested for class when thrown up against experienced, sturdy allowance and stakes horses in a conditioned allowance event. The field included well-intended impressive local allowance winner General Downs, as well as multiple graded stakes-placed Forevamo and graded-placed warhorse Valiant City.

With little pace, Valiant City sauntered along through fairly easy fractions as Tour de Force closely prompted, appearing ready to pounce at any moment. Forevamo and Florent Geroux were lurking dangerously behind those two, traveling well throughout. Turning for home down the long Fair Grounds stretch, Tour de Force put a head in front while engaging Valiant City. Meanwhile, Forevamo wheeled out to attempt a three-horse showdown. Unfortunately for his younger foes, Valiant City lived up to his name and turned them back. Tour de Force fought hard to finish a begrudging second and Forevamo could not make a dent in his talented opponents.

“I really liked his race,” said David Carroll, assistant to Casse. “I think a race like that will it would make a man out of him. He had to work hard and came back blowing and that’s the first time I’ve seen that from him. He’ll get a lot out of the race from a fitness standpoint. It’s only his fourth race, you have to remember, so I think running against a tough old polished horse like (Valiant City) will help him. I like that he wanted to fight and win, which is a good sign, as well. In his other races so far he didn’t have to fight, so that was great to see. He will learn a lot from this.”

Cover Photo: Gun Runner; Hodges Photo/Lou Hodges, Jr