A total of 14 will pit skills in the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Saturday and the pace figures to be hot and heavy. The Grade 2 $400,000 event will be run for the 45th time and with the Mardi Gras around the corner in New Orleans the fans should be in a partying mood.
The winner of the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes will earn 50 points toward running in America’s classic race on the first Saturday in May. The place horse in the mile and a sixteenth Risen Star will earn 20 points, with the third and fourth finishers earning 10 and 5 points respectively.
Last year, the Risen Star Stakes hero Gun Runner held his own in the Kentucky Derby. After winning the Risen Star, he took the Louisiana Derby and ran well to be third in the Kentucky Derby.
Trainer Joe Sharp has a pair set to roll in the Risen Star Stakes. He will saddle Girvin from the rail and Cool Arrow from post eleven. Girvin did something in his debut you don’t see every day and that’s come back on to win after losing the lead. He tried the grass earlier this month in a $50,000 stakes and ran well to get second when beaten less than a length. Cool Arrow was entered for the Southwest Stakes on Monday at Oaklawn. He was tabbed at 12-1 for that race but his connections opted for this event.
Untrapped has fired every time and should offer a bit of value Saturday. He ran second in the mud last time despite maybe not adoring the surface. The bad news is he must find a way to turn the tables on the runner that just beat him, Guest Suite. That Neil Howard student has won three of his five starts and has been consistent as the day is long. He was extra game winning the LeComte Stakes on January 21.
Local Hero was impressive winning his Fair Grounds debut and although it was just vs. maidens, he has the blood to thrive. His sire Hard Spun was a Grade 1 winner and earned over $1.6 million. His dam took a Grade 3 and won four of her five starts and had brilliant speed.
Arklow is in the good hands of Brad Cox but he is still a maiden and has a lot to prove Saturday while Shareholder Value has the benefit on winning at Fair Grounds, but he has limited velocity. The Tom Amoss trainee has only run one poor race and he was troubled that day.
U S Officer has been away since mid-December but the fact he won his racing debut gives him a shot to fire fresh. The bad news: he has been handled repeatedly by Cool Arrow.
Mo Town ships from New York with big things on his agenda. He was educated in his sprint debut, graduated on the stretch out to a mile and then won the Grade 2 Remsen last year at Aqueduct with an 86 Beyer Speed Figure. Trained by Tony Dutrow, who’s dad I knew very well growing up, Mo Town has been working the proverbial hole in the wind.
Takeoff will be looking for his ticket to the Kentucky Derby after chasing Guest Suite and Untrapped to the wire. He is cut out to be a nice horse. This runner cost $550,000.
Sorry Erik is in from California but appears overmatched as he is a reformed claimer that was dead last in his other stakes attempt. The other Californian, So Conflated, must invent a trip from the extreme outside post but he is talented. Trained by Doug O’Neill, So Conflated took the $100,000 Cal Derby in his last race.
Horse Fly could get swatted around here. The runner just broke his maiden and he was life and death to do it winning by a mere nose.
It’s Your Nickel has some semblance of speed but it’s hard to see him making the lead in this race. He was awarded a win last time when placed first by the stewards.
Value will be available in the Risen Star Stakes this year no matter where the bettor ends up. There are just so many possibilities and as usual, it will come down to pace. There are at least four horses that have enough speed to make the lead. Mo Town has been tabbed the morning line favorite at 3-1 but his trainer thinks his runner has everything to prove.
The way Local Hero won his last race suggests he has a shot to run just like his name indicates. He was geared down in his last race and still won by over seven lengths. He did make up a bit of ground late sprinting in his debut, so it is possible he can rate a bit.
Enjoy the coming of the Mardi Gras with a Local Hero.
