Photo: CDI
Saturday’s 10th race is the 97th running of the Grade II
Louisiana Derby, which with its $750,000 purse will be the richest
race ever run at Fair Grounds, and the Todd Pletcher barn will be represented by E.
Paul Robsham Stables’ Discreetly Mine as the 7-2 morning line favorite,
as well as Twin Creeks’ Racing Stable’s Mission Impazible, tabbed
at 8-1 in the early line.
“I don’t think Discreetly Mine needs to be in front like he
was when he won that last race,” said assistant trainer Michael Dilger, speaking of the Grade III Risen
Star Stakes Feb. 20 as the designed Louisiana Derby prep. “He’s a very relaxed
horse and you can do pretty much what you want with him.
“As for Mission Impazable (fourth in Oaklawn’s Grade III
Southwest Stakes Feb. 20), that race just didn’t work out for us,” said Dilger.
“First of all, he had to stay that extra week at Oaklawn (after weather forced
the one-week postponement of this year’s running), and then he had a wide trip
pretty much the whole way. He’s a nice horse and I think he deserves the chance
to run in this race Saturday.”
Drosselmeyer Doing Well Wednesday
WinStar Farm’s Drosselmeyer, fourth in the Risen
Star Feb. 20 as the choice of the fans, also arrived back from South Florida’s Payson
Park
on Tuesday’s flight and was doing well Wednesday morning.
Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, the Distorted
Humor colt went to the track Wednesday morning for training – once again
under the watchful eye of Mott’s assistant Mike Kaetzel.
“I think only having three weeks between races last time
(prior to the Risen Star) was a little rough on him,” said Kaetzel. “He’s a
small horse and he looks better now than he did the last time he came in. He
was much more on the bridle today than he was in the days before the Risen
Star.”
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