Instant Coffee tops Lecomte; Chop Chop returns in Silverbulletday

The Lecomte is the only Derby points race taking place during Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, held Friday through Sunday evening (Jan. 20-Jan. 22) at 6 p.m. (ET). Thus the 1 1/16-mile feature will have an impact on the betting. 

Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) winner Instant Coffee tops an eight-horse field set for the Lecomte. The Brad Cox trainee, who has earned 12 points so far, sits fifth on the leaderboard. 

After a good-looking debut at Saratoga, Instant Coffee finished fourth to likely divisional champion Forte in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1). He learned from that first stakes and two-turn try. Next time in the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs, Instant Coffee rallied out wide to prevail. Luis Saez retains the mount on the closer who will break from post 7.

Three others are likewise exiting victories beneath the Twin Spires – Confidence Game, Tapit’s Conquest, and Two Phil’s.

Confidence Game captured an allowance in faster time than the Kentucky Jockey Club on the same “Stars of Tomorrow II” card. Fifth in the Iroquois (G3) in his only prior stakes attempt, the well-bred son of Candy Ride is out of a half-sister to Zenyatta. Note that trainer Keith Desormeaux sent out Call Me Midnight to upset Epicenter in last year’s Lecomte. 

Tapit’s Conquest, a stablemate of Instant Coffee’s from the Cox barn, was last seen rolling in an Oct. 1 maiden. Two back in his debut at Saratoga, the Tapit colt was runner-up to eventual stakes scorer Powerful. (Note that Tapit’s Conquest is cross-entered to the ninth race, an allowance on the Lecomte undercard.) Two Phil’s, seventh in the Breeders’ Futurity, came back to romp in the slop in the Oct. 30 Street Sense (G3). 

Two Gun Runner colts, Echo Again and Denington, aim to improve on their efforts on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. 

The Steve Asmussen-trained Echo Again stamped himself as an exciting prospect in his tour de force on debut at Saratoga. That made him the odds-on favorite in the Iroquois, where he was embroiled in the pace and tired to seventh. Not seen again until the Dec. 17 Remington Springboard Mile, Echo Again set a strong tempo until weakening to third. He’s eligible to fare better in this second start off the layoff.

Denington, a closing fifth in the Kentucky Jockey Club’s bunched-up finish, has since gotten up for a distant third in the Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn Park. Trainer Ken McPeek reaches for the blinkers in hopes that the added equipment will help the colt focus. 

Itzos, a three-quarter brother to Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra, steps up from a sprint maiden score Dec. 29 over Turfway Park’s Tapeta. Like Instant Coffee, Itzos is by champion freshman sire Bolt d’Oro. The $1.4 million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase is one of two entrants for Oxo Equine and trainer Paulo Lobo. Stablemate Bromley brings a 2-for-2 record, from a Nov. 19 maiden at Churchill and a Dec. 28 allowance at Turfway. Both came in sprints, so the Oxo duo are together making their stakes and two-turn debuts in the Lecomte.

Cox also holds a strong hand in the Silverbulletday, as he sends out Chop Chop and The Alys Look in the one mile and 70-yard affair. Florent Geroux rides Chop Chop, and Saez picks up the mount on The Alys Look.

Chop Chop boasts the best overall resume, particularly her near-miss to Wonder Wheel in the Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland. Based on the race shape, Chop Chop was favored to turn the tables in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), only to trail Wonder Wheel in a disappointing display.

The Alys Look sports the best local form, having finished a clear second in the Dec. 26 Untapable S. at this track and trip. Also coming off the Untapable are fourth-placer Hayunevano and seventh Cotton Candy Annie. Untapable winner Pretty Mischievous is skipping this prep and pointing for the Feb. 18 Rachel Alexandra (G2).

Forest Chimes earned her chance after a 7 1/2-length debut romp here for trainer Jason Barkley, and Cherie DeVaux’s Amber Cascade broke her maiden on the same Dec. 31 card. Norah G won the fillies’ division of the Louisiana Futurity for state-breds, but must prove herself on the class and distance hike. 

The Silverbulletday is the 12th race (6:30 p.m. ET), and the Lecomte is the finale (7:30 p.m. ET) on the 14-race card. You can watch and wager on “Road to the Derby Day” at Fair Grounds, featuring six stakes, on TwinSpires.com.