Track Phantom draws outside post 12 in Louisiana Derby

Mar 16, 2024 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Track Phantom, the leading three-year-old based at Fair Grounds this winter, will square off against shippers from the Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown barns in Saturday’s $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2). With the maximum number of points up for grabs, according to the 100-50-25-15-10 format, even newcomers to the trail could book a spot in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

The 1 3/16-mile Louisiana Derby is the culmination of the Fair Grounds series. Track Phantom won the first two scoring races here, the Gun Runner S. and Lecomte (G3), and the front-running type nearly made it three in the Risen Star (G2) last time out. The Steve Asmussen trainee led until the final strides, when he was just tackled by Brown’s invader Sierra Leone.

Track Phantom won’t have to face Sierra Leone on Saturday, as he is instead awaiting the Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland. But he will have to negotiate an extra sixteenth of a mile against a deep field, including Sierra Leone’s up-and-coming stablemate, Tuscan Gold. Representing the same trainer/jockey tandem of Brown and Tyler Gaffalione, the son of Medaglia d’Oro comes off a resounding maiden victory at Gulfstream Park.

Pletcher, a five-time Louisiana Derby winner, dispatches a three-strong raiding party. Agate Road was a hard-charging second in the Sam F. Davis (G3), while Antiquarian returns to New Orleans after breaking his maiden on the Risen Star undercard. Two starts back, Antiquarian was runner-up to Conquest Warrior, who has since come back to dominate a Gulfstream allowance. John Velazquez stays aboard Antiquarian, and Irad Ortiz Jr. pilots Agate Road.

Triple Espresso was a surprising addition to Pletcher’s cast, since he’s competed exclusively on turf so far. But he has a profile similar to Agate Road, who was also better known as a turf runner before switching surfaces. Triple Espresso is bred to excel on dirt, being by Omaha Beach, and his maternal grandmother, multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire Lu Ravi, captured the 1998 Fair Grounds Oaks (then a Grade 3). Luis Saez picks up the mount.

Update: Agate Road and Triple Espresso are cross-entered to the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park, also on Saturday. Agate Road is in the main body of the field, but Triple Espresso is on the also-eligible list.

Five Risen Star alumni will try to turn the tables on Track Phantom – third-placer Catching Freedom as well as Honor Marie, Hall of Fame, Real Men Violin, and Awesome Ruta. They’ll hope that Track Phantom’s outside post 12 will prove a complication, but the Quality Road colt has the tactical speed to gain a forward position with jockey Joel Rosario.

#4 Sierra Leone earns 50 points on the road to the @KentuckyDerby from the @fairgroundsnola. #FG152 ⚜️

Jockey: @Tyler_Gaff
Trainer: Chad Brown

🎙️ @JohnGDooley#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/gsY0rPDG4C

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) February 18, 2024

Catching Freedom, who had captured the Jan. 1 Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn Park in his previous start, is still catching onto the game for trainer Brad Cox. The Albaugh Family Stables runner tends to look disorganized when deploying his strong closing kick, and chances are he’ll become smoother with experience.

Honor Marie, hero of last fall’s Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs, was a sneaky fifth in the Risen Star. Farther behind than Sierra Leone early, the deep closer finished well in a comeback run that should set him up to move forward. Note that he gets a fascinating rider change to Ben Curtis, an Irish jockey who has made a splash wintering at Fair Grounds.

Track Phantom’s stablemate, Hall of Fame, was expected to do better than his seventh in the Risen Star. The $1.4 million Saratoga yearling had drawn off to a spectacular maiden win on Lecomte Day, in a time faster than Track Phantom. But Hall of Fame regressed in the Risen Star, with the sloppy conditions believed to have been a factor. A fast track could put him in a much better light with a returning Ricardo Santana Jr. It wouldn’t be a shock if he emulates sire Gun Runner, who starred in the 2016 Louisiana Derby for Asmussen.

Ken McPeek is also double-handed with Common Defense and Real Men Violin. Common Defense, a fine second to Timberlake in the Rebel (G2) in his latest, keeps Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard. Real Men Violin didn’t run up to his best form when eighth in the Risen Star. He’d beaten Track Phantom in a Churchill maiden and placed second to Honor Marie in the Kentucky Jockey Club.

Risen Star sixth Awesome Ruta outperformed his 223-1 odds that day, but the waters are getting deeper. Rounding out the Louisiana Derby dozen is Next Level, whose best talking point is trainer Keith Desormeaux. Although Next Level was third in the Del Mar Futurity (G1), he has since been well beaten in stakes, including the Gun Runner and Rebel.

You can watch and wager on all the Louisiana Derby Day action on TwinSpires.com.