Grade 3’s Mineshaft, Fair Grounds Stakes headline Louisiana Derby Preview Undercard

By Rick Francis —-

Fair Grounds Louisiana Derby Preview Day features seven stakes contests, four graded highlighted by the 40th running of the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra and the 48th edition of the Risen Star; here we’ll preview the Col.Power, Albert M. Stall along with the Grade 3’s Mineshaft and Fair Grounds Stakes.

FAIR GROUNDS

Race 6) 5½ Furlongs. (Turf)Colonel Power S. Purse $100,000 FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS AND UPWARD
Post Time: 3:28/( 2:28)/ 1:28/12:28

10) Blind Ambition (Casse/Geroux); Tapit 6-year-old makes first start since a pair of efforts up at Woodbine, where he won against OC’s and finished a game closing fourth in the G2 Nearartic; a repeat of that try wins this.

2) Chaos Theory (Walsh/Rosario); is a 3-time winner here, including 2019’s running. His strong late at this distance makes this Curlin 5-year-old a must use.

1) Fast Boat (Sharp/Beschizza); City Zip 5-year-old has put together five straight solid showings and is another who’s demonstrated a strong late run; has won 2-of-3 on the FG lawn.

Just Might (Lovell/Hernandez, C.); 5-year-old by Justin Phillip is but a half-length away from hitting the board in each of his last ten starts; adds value to exotics.

Selections: 10, 2, 1, 9

Race 8) 1&1/16th Mile. (Turf) Albert M. Stall Memorial S. STALL MEMORIAL S.. Purse $100,000 FOR FILLIES AND MARES FOUR YEARS OLD AND UPWARD
Post Time: 4:30/( 3:30)/ 2:30/ 1:30

12) Zofelle (Walsh/Geroux); Irish-bred filly enters having won three straight, Keeneland in October and a pair of December scores here with all displaying a devastating late kick.

2) Mitchell Road (Mott/Rosario); 5-year-old by English Channel only out of the money finish from last ten starts were in Grade 1 contests Diana and First Lady and those winners aren’t here. 1st or 2nd in ten of twelve turf starts with three of her six grass victories coming at today’s route.

9) Stave (Jones/ Saez); came up a neck short here in the Krantz; trainer Jones in non-graded contests, 24 percent.

7) Don’t Tell Marge (Howard/Lanerie); Artie Schiller 5-year-old has been coming on late in each of her last two.

Selections: 12, 2, 9, 7

Race 9) 1&1/16th Mile. Mineshaft S. Grade III. Purse $200,000 FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS AND UPWARD
Post Time: 5:01/( 4:01)/ 3:01/ 2:01

4) Silver Dust (Calhoun/Hernandez, B.); exits a hand ride win here in the G3 Louisiana Stakes; owns 3 wins and seconds from seven FG starts; can roll with any pace.

7) Blended Citizen (Cox/Geroux); raced 6-wide in the Louisiana to improve to second; since arriving in the Cox barn last November, Proud Citizen 5-year-old has found new life.

11) Pirate’s Punch (Forster/Albarado); dominated OC’s here last month; always forwardly placed this 4-year-old out of Shanghai Bobby will make the top two work to catch him.

9) Captivating Moon (Block/Leparoux); winner of the Diliberto two back shows a knack to rebound off poor efforts which his last start was in the Col. Bradley.

Selections: 4, 7, 11, 9

Race 10) 1*1/8th Mile. (Turf) Fair Grounds S. Grade III. Purse $150,000 FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS AND UPWARD
Post Time: 5:32/( 4:32)/ 3:32/ 2:32

2) Synchrony (Stidham/Bravo); multiple graded stakes winner and horse for the course, 4 wins and a third from five FG starts, looks to regain that winning form after ending 2019 with a pair of disappointing efforts. Tapit 7-year-old has been working lights out since returning to the Gentilly oval and today reunites with Jersey Joe Bravo for the ride.

5) Dontblamerocket (Casse/Leparoux); rolls in on a 3-race win streak highlighted by a dominant Col. Bradley score last month. 6-year out of Blame is another fond of the course having won 5 along with a pair of seconds from eight attempts; if you’re looking for a horse in top form, look no further.

1) Wound Tight (Hess/Desormeaux); West Coast invader also comes in hot having won two straight; connections will keep him in the area to make a run in the Muniz on Derby Day.

3) Botswana (Combs/Morales); enters having placed in three straight, the last at the distance and a neck short; has enough to make exotics interesting.

4) Classic Covey (Mott/Alvarado); form is solid and with a Mott starter that alone deserves a closer look.

Selections: 2, 5, 1, 3, 4