Just for Fun Stable’s Decisive Moment, winner of the
$250,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs Jan. 14 in his lone start as a
3-year-old, arrived by van Monday evening at Fair Grounds from his home base at
Calder Race Course in South Florida and was in
fine fettle Thursday morning according to trainer Juan Arias.
“He’s an excellent shipper,” Arias said of Decisive Moment,
who has now journeyed from South Florida to Louisiana
three times in his career. Prior to his win in the Jean Lafitte, Decisive
Moment finished second in the Grade III Delta Jackpot last November, a month
after finishing third in the In Reality division of the Florida Stallion Stakes.
“We let him rest Tuesday after his van ride,” said Arias,
and yesterday (Wednesday) we let him gallop a mile and a half around the track
and then took him to the gate for schooling.
“I’ve been to Louisiana
three times now, but this is my first trip to New
Orleans,” said Arias, a former jockey who is a native of
Panama.
“Last night we went down to the French Quarter and got to experience some of
the pre-Mardi Gras happy feeling.”
In the Risen Star, Decisive Moment will be ridden once
again by Cajun-born jockey Kerwin “Boo Boo” Clark, who began riding
Thoroughbreds at recognized meetings in 1975 and is credited with more than 2,600
wins in his career. Clark
continues to be amazed at how much Decisive Moment has improved between his
2-year-old and 3-year-old seasons.
Now 51, Clark has ridden extensively on the Chicago and Louisiana circuits and
also spent two years riding in Saudi
Arabia, but
has never ridden in a Kentucky Derby.
“Wouldn’t that be great, after all these years, to have my
first Kentucky Derby mount at 51-years-old?” Clark
said recently.
“I’d love to help someone like Boo Boo finally get his
first Derby
mount,” Arias said Thursday. “He’s done a great job riding this horse for us.”