Lecomte Contenders Built, Golden Afternoon Ready For Next Stop on Road to the Derby

Trained by Wayne Catalano, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Built is the deserved 3-1 morning line favorite off his impressive gate-to-wire win in the Gun Runner.

“Let’s do it again. Why not?” Catalano said. “We got the race under his belt after the long layoff. We got a couple of easy breezes in just to keep him happy and get a little air in his lungs. We’ve got him fit and ready. The horse is training great. Licking his feed tub and training great. We’re very happy with him.”

Drawing post 13, Built will be reunited with jockey Jareth Loveberry.

“If it was the Kentucky Derby, we’d be happy with that post,” Catalano said.

Eddie Greco, Pat Greco, Scott Jaffe, Michael Cloonan, and Vaccarezza Racing’s Golden Afternoon will be making his first start on the dirt in the Lecomte. The gelded son of Goldencents trained by Nick Vaccarezza followed up his debut win at Kentucky Downs with an impressive second-place finish in the Bourbon (G2).

“He ran a really big race in the Bourbon, but a horse came flying and got him,” Vaccarezza said. “Golden (Afternoon) was on the front end of that race and they went 22 and 45, and he was the only horse who stayed on.”

Golden Afternoon’s third start came in a local second-level allowance, beating next-out winner Curahee going one mile on the Stall-Wilson Turf Course.

“We came down here off the Bourbon and our target was to run in the first non-winners of two on the dirt, but the race didn’t go,” Vaccarezza said. “We were going to wait for the Gun Runner, but I got a funny feeling one day and said listen guys, I think we need to go in this turf race. Even though the horse was at 75%, let’s let him win on his own, and that will help him out for (the Lecomte) to get him tightened up.”

Golden Afternoon will be the first horse to race for the 25-year-old trainer, who has taken the barn over from his father, Carlo Vaccarezza.

“This has been a plan that is almost as old as I am,” Nick Vaccarezza said. “You have to wait for the right time and Golden is a nice horse, we have other nice horses, too. We won 25% (of our races) last year in Kentucky. Now is the time to make the jump.”

Golden Afternoon will be guided from post 6 by Axel Concepcion.

The 1 1/16 miles Lecomte is the first prep race on the calendar to offer 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points to the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

Six stakes have been slated for the “Road to the Derby Day” card, including the $150,000 Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday, a prep race offering 20-10-6-4-2 points for the Longines Kentucky Oaks. Additional added money events on the program are the $175,000 Louisiana Stakes presented by Relyne GI By Hagyard (G3), the $100,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley, the $100,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial, and the $100,000 Duncan F. Kenner Stakes.

The Lecomte is scheduled as the finale of the 12-race program, which averages 11.3 entries per field. First post is noon CT.

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