Silver Dust Eyes Gold in Upgraded Louisiana Stakes

Tom Durant's Silver Dust, already a graded stakes winner at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, is entered for his 6-year-old debut at the New Orleans track in the $100,000 Louisiana Stakes (G3) as part of a stakes-filled card Jan. 18. The Tapit  gelding was beaten less than a length a year ago when the race was contested as a listed stakes.

The 1 1/16-mile Louisiana Stakes for 4-year-olds and up on the main track drew eight entries, six of which are cross-entered in the $125,000 Colonel E. R. Bradley Stakes, a race scheduled for turf Saturday at Fair Grounds. There is a threat of rain in the long-range forecast, leading some horsemen to keep options open in case of a change in surface in the Bradley.

Silver Dust, the 3-1 Louisiana favorite and the 124-pound highweight, has finished first or second in nine of his last 10 starts, including victories in the Mineshaft Handicap (G3) at Fair Grounds and the West Virginia Governor's Stakes at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort. The record is a flip from the beginning of Silver Dust's career when he won only his second outing from his first 15 races.

"He's always had that kind of ability but his antics stunted his progress," trainer Bret Calhoun said. "He was bad in the paddock, bad in the gate, tough to ride. We gelded him last summer, but even that wasn't a cure-all. Two races after the procedure, he flipped in the gate and had to be scratched. It's just taken him a long time to mature. He still pulls his stunts at times. He's gotten pretty smart and knows the difference between the mornings and afternoons. He can be perfect when schooling, but you still can't trust him on race day."

Blended Citizen and My Boy Jack represent other grade 3 winners, both of whom were involved in the 2018 Triple Crown. Blended Citizen was ninth that year in the Belmont Stakes (G1), while My Boy Jack closed to be fifth in the 2018 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

Sayjay Racing, Greg Hall, and Brooke Hubbard's Blended Citizen has made two starts with trainer Brad Cox since being transferred from Southern California. He won at the allowance level Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs and was second beaten a head in the Dec. 21 Tenacious Stakes on a sloppy track at Fair Grounds. 

Don't Tell My Wife Stables and Monomoy Stables' My Boy Jack, trained by Keith Desormeaux, earned two graded wins on dirt in 2018, but has made his last four starts on turf. 

Also entered is L and N Racing's Tone Broke, who swept the two final legs of the Canadian Triple Crown last year on dirt and turf. The Steve Asmussen trainee last ran ninth in the Sept. 7 Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park.

Completing the field are 4-year-olds Roiland and Gun It, seen briefly on Fair Grounds' 2019 Kentucky Derby trail; Captivating Moon, who scored his first stakes win in the Dec. 21 Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes over this track and distance after the race was moved off the turf; and Kukulkan, a sixth-length winner Dec. 8 in the Copa Confraternidad de Caribe at Gulfstream Park.

All but Gun It and Kukulkan are cross-entered in the Bradley. 

Entries: Louisiana S. (G3)

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, January 18, 2020, Race 10

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:21 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1My Boy Jack (KY)	Kent J. Desormeaux	118	J. Keith Desormeaux	8/1
2	2Silver Dust (KY)	Jack Gilligan	124	W. Bret Calhoun	3/1
3	3Blended Citizen (KY)	Florent Geroux	118	Brad H. Cox	7/2
4	4Gun It (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	120	Steven M. Asmussen	9/2
5	5Captivating Moon (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	122	Chris M. Block	6/1
6	6Roiland (KY)	James Graham	118	Thomas M. Amoss	12/1
7	7Tone Broke (ON)	Joseph Talamo	118	Steven M. Asmussen	10/1
8	8Kukulkan (MEX)	Miguel Mena	122	Fausto Gutierrez	9/2