John Hancock Signs His Name Atop Ten Entered in Grade Two $1 Million Louisiana Derby

By Kevin Kilroy —-

John Hancock Signs His Name Atop Ten Entered in Grade Two $1 Million Louisiana Derby

New Orleans, La (March 15, 2025) – With a field of ten entered, CHC & WinStar Farm’s John Hancock was tabbed as the 7-2 morning line favorite in the $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), one of eight stakes scheduled for Louisiana Derby Day at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. The 3-year-olds will be tasked with 1 3/16 miles, the furthest North American prep to date. The last stop on the local Road to the Kentucky Derby will award 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points to the top five finishers.

Scheduled for Saturday, March 22, the 112th running of the Louisiana Derby is one of four graded stakes on the closing weekend card along with the $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), the first prep on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks to offer 200 qualifying points; the centennial running of the $500,000 New Orleans Classic presented by Relyne GI By Hagyard (G2); and the $300,000 Muniz Memorial presented by Horse Racing Nation (G2).

Brad Cox; Hodges

Trained by Brad Cox, John Hancock proved himself in his first Derby prep, wiring the field last out in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs. With Owen Almighty, the next-out winner of the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) on his hip throughout the Sam Davis, John Hancock proved his tenacity, outdueling that classy foe down the stretch and earning 20 points toward Kentucky Derby 151. Perfect in his two starts, John Hancock overcame a tough start on debut to quickly burst to the front of the pack and prove best going 6 furlongs at Tampa. Flavien Prat will be back in the irons to guide the Constitution colt from the rail.

The current meet-leading trainer, Cox has two colts entered in the local derby as he tries to win back-to-back editions after scoring his first Louisiana Derby last year with Catching Freedom. Gary and Mary West’s homebred Instant Replay will join his stablemate in the starting gates. The son of Maximum Security kicked off his sophomore campaign in style, scoring his second two-turn race in a local mid-February first-level allowance. On a fast main track that had been favoring forward runs, Instant Replay came from last to blow past the loose leader Furio at the furlong pole and draw away with little urging to win by 5 lengths. Back aboard for the Louisiana Derby, jockey Florent Geroux will guide Instant Replay from post 9.

Built; Hodges
Having competed in each of the three local Derby preps to date, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Built is set to run in the finale. Trained by Wayne Catalano, Built has scored 35 Derby points with his win in the Gun Runner, second-place finish in the Lecomte (G3), and third in the Risen Star (G3). A new rider has been named to pilot the son of Hard Spun, as meet-leading jockey Jose Ortiz takes the call. Built drew post 6 and is the 9-2 second choice in the morning line.

Finishing ahead of Built in the Risen Star, Terry Stephens’ Chunk of Gold will return to Fair Grounds looking to add to the 25 points he earned running second in that event. Trained by Ethan West, the Preservationist colt followed up his debut win at Turfway Park with a second in the Leonatus. Jareth Loveberry retains the mount.

Also exiting the Risen Star is Team Penney Racing’s Vassimo. The Todd Pletcher trainee will return to Fair Grounds with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle after the team produced a valiant late effort to run fourth in Vassimo’s first stakes try.

With a lukewarm favorite and a highly competitive field, this year’s edition of the Louisiana Derby could be won by any of the ten entries. The rest of the field includes a pair trained by Steve Asmussen in Tiztastic who has cobbled together 19 qualifying points from top five finishes in four Derby preps and the impressive last-out maiden winner Yinzer; Sunland Derby place-finisher Caldera for trainer D. Wayne Lukas; a troubled seventh last out in the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn Park, Hypnus will return to the track where he broke his maiden for last year’s winning Kentucky Derby trainer Ken McPeek; and Furio, the upstart colt trained by Joe Sharp who ran second to Instant Replay in his first try at two turns.

Saturday’s festivities will include the $150,000 Tom Benson Memorial, a 1 1/16 miles turf route for older fillies and mares, and a trio of $100,000 Louisiana-bred stakes.

First post on Louisiana Derby Day is set for noon CT.

Here’s the complete field for the $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) from the rail out (with jockey, trainer, and morning line):

1. John Hancock (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox, 7-2)

10. Hypnus (Brian Hernandez Jr., Ken McPeek, 12-1)

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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, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 15 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 153rd Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 112th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 22, 2024 through March 23, 2025. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.