NEW ORLEANS - Vicar’s in Trouble was among the smaller horses in the field for the $1 million Grade II Louisiana Derby.
Now, the 3-year-old colt has earned enough points to get a spot in the first leg of the Triple Crown.
Jockey Rosie Napravnik guided Vicar’s in Trouble to a commanding victory Saturday in the Louisiana Derby, one of the premier prep races for the Kentucky Derby.
“You know, he is a tiny horse but he’s got a great big heart,” Napravnik said.
Vicar’s in Trouble, trained by Michael Maker, is the first Louisiana-bred horse to win the Louisiana Derby since Heaven Again in 1990 and has two victories and a third-place finish in the three biggest stakes races the Fair Grounds Race Course hosts, with combined earnings of $760,000 for those races. He won the Grade III Lecomte Stakes in January and finished third at the Grade II Risen Star Stakes last month.
Vicar’s in Trouble broke from post 6 as one of two 3-1 second choices. He took the lead coming around the first turn and remained in front from there, completing the 11/8-mile race in 1:50.3 and winning by 3½ lengths over 9-5 favorite Intense Holiday.
“He just broke really sharp and was comfortable in the lead,” Napravnik said. “It couldn’t mean any more. It’s the premier race at the track at the end of the meet. … It’s the race that you want to win. “
Intense Holiday, winner of the Risen Star, remained near the front but was unable to mount a significant challenge down the stretch. His jockey, Mike Smith, said Napravni rode “a great race, a brilliant race, actually. It turned it into a 2-furlong sprint.”
Commanding Curve was third, 5 lengths off the pace, but jockey Robby Albaradowas encouraged by how his horse responded after being bumped at the start and rallied for a top-three finish.
Vicar’s in Trouble paid $8.60, $4.40 and $3. Intense Holiday, trained by Todd Pletcher, paid $3.20 and $2.60, and Commanding Curve paid $5.20. Both Vicar’s In Trouble and Intense Holiday already have qualified for the Kentucky Derby on May 3.
In Trouble ran fourth but was disqualified for bumping Albano, who ran fifth but was officially moved up to fourth.
FLORIDA DERBY Constitution passes
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Javier Castellano saw a couple horses in front of him and thought about steering Constitution to the outside in an effort to pass everyone.
Then a gap opened on the rail.
Constitution knew what to do from there, and a spot in the Kentucky Derby is his likely reward.
In only his third start - his first in a stakes race - Constitution won a stride-for-stride battle down the stretch with Wildcat Red to take the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, giving trainer Todd Pletcher’s powerful stable yet another option - and maybe a very real contender - for the Run for the Roses on May 3.
“This colt’s come so far in such a short period of time,” Pletcher said. “You know, three months ago we were not even thinking about this. Everything’s fallen into place. It’s a real tribute to how talented he is and how far he’s been able to come.”
Constitution remained unbeaten, with all three of his victories coming at Gulfstream, where he broke his maiden on Jan. 11. He finished the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.16 and returned $8.60, $4.20 and $3.60 for the win.
“He’s a super horse,” said Castellano, who could be aboard Constitution again in the Kentucky Derby if he chooses.
Wildcat Red paid $4.80 and $3.40 for second. General a Rod paid $3.40 to show and Cairo Prince, which officially went off at 6-5 as the favorite, was fourth and beaten by nearly nine lengths.
“The great thing about today’s race is we got some experience,” Pletcher said.
Wildcat Red started on the inside and went to the front as expected, with General a Rod settling in second much of the early way. Castellano - who anticipated a different trip for his horse, but audibled nicely - guided Constitution to a spot near the rail and stalked the lead, then with about 3 furlongs to run thought about finding open space along the outside.
Instead, he stayed put, then took the lead for good with just a couple strides remaining over a very game Wildcat Red.
“It was kind of early and second, I was going to lose a lot of ground,” Castellano said. “So I took my shot and it worked out great.”
Pletcher said the plan for Constitution all hinged on the Florida Derby - if he did enough in this race, then it the Triple Crown trail would await. Now it wouldn’t be surprising if he was among the favorites, and remember, Orb used winning the Florida Derby as a springboard toward winning the Kentucky Derby a year ago.
This is the second year that the 20 entrants to the Kentucky Derby will be determined by points collected from the prep races.
A year ago, it took 10 points to get into the Derby field, but Cairo Prince still is hardly assured of a spot.
“We feel like we’ll get in,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “And if we don’t, we won’t.”DUBAI WORLD CUP
African Story surprises
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - African Story produced a brilliant finish to win the $10 million Dubai World Cup by 2¾ lengths Saturday in the world’s richest horse race.
The Godolphin horse is owned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. With Silvestre DeSousa onboard, the 7-year-old gelding became the sixth winner in this 2,000-meter race for trainer Saeed bin Suroor.
Starting from post 6 on the synthetic Tapeta track, 12-1 African Story caught up with Mukhadram with 200 meters to go. Mukhadram, owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s brother, Sheikh Hamdan, finished second and another Godolphin horse Cat O’Mountain, trained by Charlie Appleby, was third.
Ruler of the World, the son of Galileo and trained by Aiden O’Brien, failed to live up to its name and struggled with some distance to go.
Earlier, Japanese horses dominated the two main supporting events on turf in the nine-race card for the night, which offered a total purse of $27.25 million.
Just A Way demolished a quality field at the $5 million Group 1 Dubai Duty Free to win the 1,800-meter feature race by 6¼ lengths.
In the Sheema Classic, which traditionally gets one of the most competitive fields during the Dubai World Cup night, Gentildonna, ridden by jockey Ryan Moore, overcame a poor draw from post 12 to blitz past Cirrus Des Aigles and Ambivalent in the closing stages.
Road to the Derby points leaderboard
Point standings after Saturday’s races. Horses who finish in the top 20 in the standings will receive preference if more than 20 horses are entered for the May 3 Kentucky Derby. Saturday’s Louisiana Derby, Florida Derby and UAE Derby in 1. Vicar’s In Trouble 120 2. Constitution 100 3. Toast of New York 100 4. Intense Holiday 93 5. Wildcat Red 90 6. We Miss Artie 60 7. Samraat 60 8. Hoppertunity 55 9. Chitu 54 10. Midnight Hawk 52 11. Ring Weekend 50 12. California Chrome 50 13. Tapiture 42 14. General a Rod 40 15. Albano 34 16. Cairo Prince 24 17. Uncle Sigh 24 18. Vinceremos 20Dubai offered 170 points each to the top four finishers, with 100 points going to the winner, 40 for second, 20 for third and 10 for fourth. Boldfaced horses have raced in at least one of Oaklawn’s 3-yearolds preps: 19. Harry’s Holiday 20 20. Commanding Curve 20 21. Ride On Curlin 15 22. Kristo 14 23. Coastline 13 24. Tamarando 12 25. Strong Mandate 11 26. Rise Up 10 27. Giovanni Boldini 10 28. Candy Boy 10 29. In Trouble 20 30. Noble Moon 10 31. Ami’s Holiday 10 32. Tanzanite Cat 10 33. Commissioner 10 34. Cleburne 10 35. Conquest Titan 9 36. Dance with Fate 8
Sports, Pages 33 on 03/30/2014