The street to the Kentucky Derby introduced by Louisiana’s Woodford Reserve continues via Saturday’s Grade 3 Leconte Stakes Held on the Fairgrounds, the highest 5 horses will obtain 42 Derby spots on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale. Lecomte Racecourse has produced two Kentucky Derby winners. Battle Emblem was a fifth-place horse earlier than profitable the Derby in 2002, whereas Mandalone was third at Le Comte Racecourse, then second, and was promoted to first on the Roses in 2021. Lecomte has additionally been an necessary stepping stone for different Basic winners. Risen Star received the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in 1988 after ending second, whereas Oxbow (2013) and Battle of Will (2019) received the Lecomte Stakes and Preakness Stakes, respectively. This 12 months’s lineup options 11 stallions, however Every day Racing Type reported that Ocelli will as a substitute run as a scratch within the first race of Saturday’s card on the Fairgrounds. Crown the Buckeye has the bottom morning line odds at 4-1, with this race shaping up as a deep and aggressive betting alternative.
Beneath is a view of the sector looking from the rail (inside) put up location.
High quality Mischief, one among three runners from Brad Cox’s steady, simply completed fourth within the Gun Runner Stakes on the Fairgrounds in December, by one size. Carson Road received his first win final trip by 11 1/4 lengths on a tough observe on the Fairgrounds over a distance of 1 1/16 miles for coach Brendan Walsh and Lecomte. The Road Sense colt has completed within the high three in all 4 of his profession races on dust and turf. Mike Maker’s Ohio-bred and well-liked Morning Line horse Crown the Buckeye confirmed overwhelming power within the state-level stakes, that are a prerequisite for beginning his profession, however he narrowly missed out within the Gun Runner Stakes final trip in his first begin with open firm, ending in third place by three-quarters of a size. Ricardo Santana Jr. shall be on board for the primary time on Saturday. Exosome final scored in his first particular weight race at Keeneland’s tough observe over the identical 1 1/16-mile distance in October, giving coach Kelsey Danner one of the best morning line odds at 20-1. Golden Tempo, the primary of two horses for coach Shelley Devaux, received his profession debut within the Grime Dash Maiden Particular class with jockey Jose Ortiz, who retained the stallion in his second race. Brad Cox’s second entry, Thunder Buck, ran 1 1/16 miles final time on the Fairgrounds, incomes his first win on his first try at this route distance. Sherry Devaux’s second starter, Mesquite, faltered on the finish, however bounced again on the dust at Churchill Downs and received her subsequent begin by three-quarters of a size over fellow Lecomte rival Carson Road, who scored the aforementioned dominant first win. Jockey Flavien Prat, who has a staggering 34% win price to this point in 2026, will take the reins of Mesquite. Brad Cox’s third contestant, White Tiger, received in spectacular vogue on the finish after staggering out of the gate on the 1 1/16-mile dust route at Churchill Downs. Ocelli, the one undefeated runner, is cross-entered into race eight on the cardboard on Saturday on the Fairgrounds, as talked about above, and is anticipated to run there. Coach Brendan Walsh’s second entry, Cease the Automobile, received the Allowance Non-compulsory Declare Degree at Churchill Racecourse in late November by three and 1 / 4 lengths, incomes him a file 90 factors within the ultimate Out Equibase Velocity Determine on the observe. Gun Runner Stakes winner Chip Honcho makes his ultimate look for coach Steve Asmussen. The Join stallion’s resume consists of three begins and two wins.
Evaluation and principal candidates:
Morning line odds are 8-1; golden time Offers a variety of worth contemplating we now have but to comprehend his full potential. Golden Tempo, a son of Curlin, is a Calamba-bred mare who’s a 1 1/8 mile graded winner on dust and has run seven instances in dust graded stakes over distances of 1 mile. Though that is solely his second 12 months within the race and his first try at a route race, Golden Tempo has the pedigree to run the 1 1/16 mile. In his solely begin, a six-furlong dust dash on the Fairgrounds on December 20, Golden Tempo slipped to the again of the sector and was properly out of competition by the point the ultimate nook was reached. He went practically seven widths into the straight and nonetheless sprinted to a one-and-a-half size victory over Fancy Fairlane, who had a five-length lead on the sixteenth pole. Golden Tempo earned an equal base velocity determine of 87 for his huge effort and ranked first within the subject with a slower tempo of 106.0, 10 factors quicker than some other contender. Over the previous 12 months, horses with the slowest tempo score in dust stakes races have received 27% of the time and completed 61% of the time in 295 begins, together with Nysos, Splendora, Tremendous Corredora, Sovarinti, Baeza and Nitrogen. Coach Shelley Deveaux was additionally very efficient in serving to the horses transition from sprints to routes. Over the previous 12 months, DeVoe has received 27% of his 37 races throughout all racetracks and completed within the high 30 59% of the time, giving him a 59% return on funding with this transfer. Notably, Jose Ortiz has chosen to stay with Golden Tempo. Ortiz, who has ridden stablemate and fellow Lecomte horse Mesquite in his earlier two begins, will journey Golden Tempo at Lecomte. Over the previous three years at Fairgrounds, DeVoe and Ortiz have posted a formidable 40% efficiency in 55 begins for a 56% return on funding. Golden Tempo lacks two-turn expertise, however his pedigree, tempo profile and potential counsel he may take a significant step on the street to the Kentucky Derby.
white tiger Even odds of 8-1 are good worth on the morning line. White Tiger, who made his profession debut within the seven-furlong dust dash at Churchill Downs on September 19, completed second by 7 1/4 lengths to the still-eliminating Englishman. White Tiger then confirmed unimaginable efficiency, stretching to 1 1/16 miles on the dust at Churchill in late October. After stumbling at the beginning, he surged to the entrance beneath Irad Ortiz Jr. and picked up the tempo to the sixteenth pole, the place he was handed on the skin earlier than reeling again alongside the rail to win by half a size. For a two-year-old horse in his second 12 months of profession, it was an effort that confirmed each expertise and toughness. White Tiger improved his Equibase velocity numbers from 77 to 86 with this win and has a robust probability of advancing once more at Lecomte. Coach Brad Cox is extraordinarily proficient in elevating first-time profitable horses to the stakes stage, and has entered 81 races over the previous three years with a win price of 27%, a top-3 end price of 53%, and a return on funding of 48%. Cox has additionally been higher total on the Fairgrounds, profitable 31% from 295 starters over the previous three years. It is also price noting that common rider Irad Ortiz Jr. is staying on, touring from Gulfstream Park to journey. White Tiger has proven higher outcomes than anticipated in his first two begins and seems to be properly suited to maneuver as much as the graded stakes.
Regardless of being undefeated from the earlier two races with a complete distinction of 5 and a half lengths, cease the automotive additionally lands on an 8-1 morning line. In October, he received his debut on the $150,000 stage within the six-furlong dust dash at Keeneland, rallying from seventh on the third name level to complete by one and three-quarters of a size. In his most up-to-date effort, Cease the Automobile prolonged to at least one flip mile within the Allowance Possibility Claimer at Churchill Downs, closing in on the tempo and taking management on the entrance, pulling away by a three-quarter size lead. He earned a 90 Equibase quantity for that efficiency, which is one of the best last-out velocity quantity within the subject. Over the previous 12 months, the horse with the best earlier race Equibase Velocity Index within the main dust races received 32% of the trip of 301 runners, had a top-3 end price of 63%, and a return on funding of 4%. Cease the Automobile additionally leads the sector in early and intermediate tempo scores and ranks second in late tempo with a 96.0. In keeping with the horse’s report card, it may be seen that he has maintained his sharpness on the fairgrounds since his victory, together with a bullet follow run of 47.40 seconds for 4 furlongs on December 18th and a steady run of 1:00.60 for five furlongs on January ninth. Cease the Automobile, ridden for the primary time by Ben Curtis, is aware of how you can discover the winner’s circle, however he’ll face his hardest check but in his stakes debut, beginning with an prolonged flip and a few turns. Half a furlong. However, he affords favorable worth and has a aggressive velocity and tempo profile at this stage.
The remainder of the sector has posted the best Equibase velocity numbers in comparable races. high quality mischief (87), carson road (85), crown the buckeye (90), exosome (79), thunderback (87), mesquite (84), Ocelli (85), and chip honcho (89).
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golden time
white tiger
cease the automotive
