Silver Dust Faces Stiffer Competition in Mineshaft
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Photo: Hodges Photography / Jan Brubaker
Silver Dust wins the Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course
A month after beating five foes in the Louisiana Stakes (G3), Silver Dust will race for double the purse and face double the competition when matched against 10 rivals in the $200,000 Mineshaft Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Feb. 15 on a stakes-packed afternoon of racing.
Three horses who placed right behind him in the Louisiana Stakes are back—Blended Citizen, Gun It, and Roiland—plus promising new shooters to the series in Mocito Rojo, Hofburg, Cutting Humor, and Pirate's Punch. Mocito Rojo and Cutting Humor are graded stakes winners, Hofburg was third in the 2018 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), and Pirate's Punch was an 11 1/2-length local allowance-level winner Jan. 16.
Even with their presence, Silver Dust is the one to beat. With a 3-3-0 record in seven starts on dirt at Fair Grounds, he won the Mineshaft last year on his way to a runner-up finish in the New Orleans Handicap (G2). Later, he won the West Virginia Governor's Stakes (G3) at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort before he was edged by Mocito Rojo in the Lukas Classic Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs in his season finale after he missed some training because of tying-up issues, trainer Bret Calhoun said.
Freshened for the Fair Grounds meet, he returned a 4 1/4-length winner in the Jan. 18 Louisiana Stakes, pulling away under usual rider Jack Gilligan, who will miss the ride Saturday as he nurses a broken collarbone and other injuries from a spill last month. Brian Hernandez Jr. will replace him for the Mineshaft, a race in which Silver Dust will carry co-highweight of 122 pounds.
Video: Louisiana S. (G3)
Calhoun has long credited Gilligan's work with the temperamental Silver Dust, a 6-year-old son of Tapit and a $510,000 purchase by owner Tom Durant from the de Meric Sales consignment at the 2016 Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Because of Silver Dust's repeated misbehavior, his connections made the difficult decision to geld him, which has only partially curbed his bad-boy ways.
"He never made one bobble, one mistake, at any point today," Calhoun said after the Louisiana Stakes. "I'd like to think he's growing up and getting past that, but it wouldn't shock me if four weeks from today, we come to the paddock (and) he's completely different."
Presenting a challenge for Silver Dust is Starlight Racing's Cutting Humor, who finished third in a Jan. 11 second-level allowance at Gulfstream Park after a long layoff. He was placed 10th in last year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) after winning the Sunland Park Derby (G3) in a track-record 1:46.94 for 1 1/8 miles.
"Look who he beat, too," said Starlight Racing's Jack Wolf, pointing to eventual Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1) winner Mucho Gusto, who was third in the Sunland Park Derby.
Javier Castellano will be aboard the Todd Pletcher trainee, a 4-year-old son of First Samurai who sheds blinkers after racing with the equipment over his past six races.
"This race he came back in, he had a good Beyer (Speed Figure) and a good (Ragozin) number," Wolf said of Cutting Humor's comeback. "Although he is still eligible for an allowance race, Todd decided to go to the Fair Grounds. Hopefully, he can get another grade 3 under his belt.
"That's one thing about this horse—it's hard to find these horses that really try, although he is a talented horse. It's pretty exciting when you get one."
Video: Race 9 (AOC) at GP on 1/11/20
Saturday's race marks the first start since last summer for Juddmonte Farms' homebred Hofburg and just his second race since his 3-year-old season. In 2018, the son of Tapit won the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in addition to his Belmont third and his runner-up finish behind Audible in the Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1). He was also seventh in the 2018 Kentucky Derby.
Joel Rosario will ride for trainer Bill Mott.
Carded as the ninth race with a post time of 5:01 EST, the Mineshaft is the first of five consecutive graded races at Fair Grounds. Two ungraded $100,000 races will be run earlier on the program.
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, February 15, 2020, Race 9Entries: Mineshaft S. (G3)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Mocito Rojo (KY)
Filemon T. Rodriguez
118
Shane Wilson
8/1
2
2Sleepy Eyes Todd (KY)
Adam Beschizza
122
Miguel Angel Silva
10/1
3
3Gun It (KY)
Ricardo Santana, Jr.
120
Steven M. Asmussen
10/1
4
4Silver Dust (KY)
Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.
122
W. Bret Calhoun
5/2
5
5Roiland (KY)
James Graham
118
Thomas M. Amoss
20/1
6
6Hofburg (KY)
Joel Rosario
118
William I. Mott
4/1
7
7Blended Citizen (KY)
Florent Geroux
118
Brad H. Cox
6/1
8
8Winning Number (KY)
Eddie Martin, Jr.
118
Brian S. House
20/1
9
9Captivating Moon (KY)
Julien R. Leparoux
122
Chris M. Block
12/1
10
10Cutting Humor (KY)
Javier Castellano
118
Todd A. Pletcher
8/1
11
11Pirate's Punch (KY)
Robby Albarado
118
Grant T. Forster
10/1
