ENFORCEABLE LIKELY FOR RISEN STAR; FINITE TARGETS RACHEL ALEXANDRA

By Grant LaGrange/Joe Kristufek —-

Finite; Hodges Photography

New Orleans (January 19, 2020) – On Saturday, February 15, Fair Grounds will play host to “Louisiana Derby Preview Day presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln”. Highlighted by a pair of key races for the three-year-olds on the Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), the six stakes events will offer combined purses of $1.25 million.

According to assistant trainers David Carroll (Mark Casse) and Scott Blasi (Steve Asmussen), both Lecomte (G3) winner Enforceable and Silverbulletday victress Finite came back out of their performances in good shape and will be pointed to the $400,000 Risen Star (G2) and $300,000 Rachel Alexandra (G2) respectively.

Quotes > Notes

David Carroll, assistant trainer (Mark Casse) of Lecomte winner Enforceable, who closed into an honest pace from far back to score.

“He came out of the race great, a little bit tired, as you would expect,” Carroll said. “He cleaned up his feed, jogged sound this morning. Very proud of his effort. He trained beautifully going in, so we were expecting a big race and then to win it was a bonus. Mark (trainer Casse) and Mr. Oxley (owner John) will talk about it, but all things being equal, the Risen Star (G2) will more than likely be his next target.”

“I feel he’ll relish an increase in distance,” Carroll continued. “He’s got a beautiful, efficient stride and he really reaches out. He ran deceptively well in the Jockey Club. There wasn’t a whole lot of pace in the race over a sloppy track and he kind of got checked turning for home and yet he was still closing Yesterday was a truly run race, it set up beautifully for him, he had to come wide and he still had to finish and nobody passed him on the gallop out.”

Brad Cox, trainer of Mr. Monomoy, who enjoyed a ground-saving trip while racing close to an honest pace before settling for third in the Lecomte.

“He came back fantastic,” Cox said. “I thought he had a good, ground saving trip. He took some dirt and passed horses in the Keeneland race (career debut), so we were confident he would do it again. He got held up a little bit, lost some momentum, and the winner got the jump on us. He galloped out with him (Enforceable), so that was encouraging. Overall it was a positive effort, and his speed figures keep improving, which I like to see. He’s going to need to keep getting better, which I think he can.”

Cox termed the Risen Star is “an option”.

Brad Cox, trainer of Portrait, who made a bold move while wide before flattening out to finish a close fourth in the Silverbulletday

“She ran well,” Cox said. “She was in a good position, but was forced to go wide and that may have affected her late. We are hoping she was just a little short and will take a step forward for the next one.”

Cox indicated that both Portrait and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner and likely Eclipse Award Champion British Idiom are pointed to the Rachel Alexandra (G2) on February 15.

Mike Stidham, trainer of Ursula, who made the lead and battled on gamely to finish second in the Silverbulletday.

“She came out of the race great,” Stidham said. “We were delighted with the performance. We were asking a lot of her coming out of sprints first time going long against that type of field. The favorite (and winner Finite) is a graded stakes winner.”

“We talked about it (race strategy) in the paddock and I said to Mitchell (jockey Murrill) look, if you break sharp and find yourself on the lead, that’s beautiful. He took it from there and I was very happy with the ride. She showed that extra gear, turn of foot that good horses need to have. It looked like they were going to just swallow her up and she really met the challenge when they came to her. If she’s doing well we’d absolutely love to follow through with the Rachel and hopefully the Oaks.”

Dallas Stewart, trainer of Tempers Rising, who closed into moderate fractions to finish a close third in the Silverbulletday.

“She came back good,” Stewart said. “She ran into some traffic trouble in her previous races and still ran well,” Stewart said. “She trained really well here (at Fair Grounds) and she was free and clear yesterday. She really finishes off her races well. I like that in a young horse. She’s got the potential to be just what we want. She proved yesterday that she belongs with this kind The best thing about her is she’s got a good mind, she likes to run, she never gets tired and she can go all day We are looking forward to the Rachel Alexandra.”

Cover Photo: Enforceable; Hodges Photography

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About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, LA, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global