Gun Runner Winner Built Returns in $250,000 Lecomte, Faces Thirteen in “Road to the Derby Day” Finale
Simply Joking Stretches Out in the $150,000 Silverbulletday
New Orleans, La (Jan. 12, 2025) – Exiting a dominant gate-to-wire win in the Gun Runner, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Built headlines a deep field of 14 3-year-olds entered in the 81st running of the $250,000 Lecomte (G3) on Saturday, Jan. 18, the featured race on “Road to the Derby Day” at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. 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 $10,000 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.
Trained by Wayne Catalano, Built entered the Gun Runner proven at one-turn after breaking his maiden going 7 furlongs at Keeneland. Stretching out for the first time in the Gun Runner, the Hard Spun colt out of the Curlin mare Sea Garden led throughout and piled it on late to win by 6 3/4 lengths, earning 10 qualifying points toward a spot in the starting gate for Kentucky Derby 151. Jockey Jareth Loveberry retains the mount and will guide Built on Saturday from post 13.
Several promising 3-year-olds will line up against the Gun Runner winner, including the Disco Time, a Juddmonte homebred trained by Brad Cox who is a perfect two-for-two with his last win coming in an allowance on the “Stars of Tomorrow II” card at Churchill Downs; Sugar Bowl champion Tough Catch, one of two entered for Dallas Stewart, along with Dapper Moon; Golden Afternoon, who boasts a second in the Bourbon (G2) and will be making his first start on dirt; and Calling Card, who broke his maiden by 17 lengths going one mile at Aqueduct and has attracted the services of Frankie Dettori, in town with six calls on “Road to the Derby Day.”
Also entered in the Lecomte are two of Built’s well-beaten foes from the Gun Runner–Magnitude who finished second for Steve Asmussen and Admiral Dennis who came in fourth for Cox.
The field for the Lecomte in order of post position (with jockey and trainer):
1. Innovator (Jamie Torres, D. Wayne Lukas)
2. Maximum Promise (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek)
3. Admiral Dennis (Joel Rosario, Cox)
4. Magnitude (Jose Ortiz, Asmussen)
5. Optical (James Graham, Keith Desormeaux)
6. Golden Afternoon (Axel Concepcion, Nick Vaccarezza)
7. Calling Card (Dettori, Mike Maker)
8. Tough Catch (Luis Saez, Dallas Stewart)
9. Dapper Moon (Edgar Morales, Dallas Stewart)
10. Mobetterthangood (Colby Hernandez, Kenny McPeek)
11. Disco Time (Florent Geroux, Cox)
12. Jolly Samurai (Rene Diaz, Danny Pish)
13. Built (Loveberry, Catalano)
14. Seattle Road (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., Tom Amoss)
Simply Joking Stretches Out in the $150,000 Silverbulletday
Having broken her maiden in the Letellier Stakes on “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day,” Grantley Acres, Ryan Conner, and Berkels0813’s Simply Joking will be tested at two turns in Saturday’s $150,000 Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Going 1 mile 70 yards on the main track, the 33rd running of the Silverbulletday attracted a field of eight talented 3-year-old fillies. It is the co-featured event on the Jan. 18 “Road to the Derby Day” program.
As part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks Prep Season, the Silverbulletday will award qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale toward the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI). Scheduled as Race 9, it is one of six stakes slated for the “Road to the Derby Day” card, including the $250,000 Lecomte (G3), a prep race offering 20-10-6-4-2 points for the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). 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 $10,000 Duncan F. Kenner Stakes. First post for Saturday’s 12-race card is noon CT.
When making her debut in the Letellier, Simply Joking overcame an awkward start to gamely run down the front-running post-time favorite, Whata Moon. The Pennsylvania-bred Practical Joke filly is one of two entered in the Silverbulletday trained by Whit Beckman, along with Legion Racing’s Drexel Hill, who will wear blinkers for the first time after earning one Oaks qualifying point with her fifth-place finish in the Untapable.
Also exiting the Untapable, both Golden Gamble and California Sunset will join the Beckman duo in the Silverbulletday starting gates. One of three fillies entered by trainer Kenny McPeek, Golden Gamble finished second in the local Oaks prep. She’ll be joined by stablemates Gowells Delight and She’s a Swede, both last-out maiden winners. California Sunset came from last to finish third in the Untapable for trainer Brad Cox.
Cox has another talented filly entered in the Silverbulletday, Juddmonte’s homebred Chasten. A half-sister to reigning Champion Older Dirt Female Idiomatic, Chasten dazzled winning her lone start going 7 furlongs on Churchill Downs’ “Stars of Tomorrow II” card.
The field also includes Cypress Creek Equine’s homebred Bless the Broken, who ran seventh last out in the Demoiselles (G2) for trainer Will Walden.
The complete field for the Silverbulletday from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):
1. Chasten (Florent Geroux, Cox)
2. Golden Gamble (Brian Hernandez Jr., McPeek)
3. Simply Joking (Jamie Torres, Beckman)
4. Drexel Hill (Ben Curtis, Beckman)
5. California Sunset (Joel Rosario, Cox)
6. Gowells Delight (Colby Hernandez, McPeek)
7. She’s a Swede (Luis Saez, McPeek)
8. Bless the Broken (Axel Concepcion, Walden)
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will host live racing on Monday, Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The 5-day racing week begins on Thursday, Jan. 16. First post will be 12:45 p.m. CT each day, except for an early start of noon on “Road to the Derby Day,” Saturday, Jan. 18.
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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.
