Senor Buscador Sets Sights on Risen Star Victory

Trainer Todd Fincher will make the trip from his Remington Park base to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Feb. 13 to see if his hereto undefeated colt, Senor Buscador, has what it takes to face down a field of talented sophomores in the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2).

"I've never been there, it's a big race, there's Kentucky Derby points on the line, and I'm really looking forward to it," Fincher said. "I think the distance is absolutely in his favor. My wish list would be two preps and hopefully qualify for the Kentucky Derby."

Run at 1 1/8 miles, the Risen Star offers its entrants the chance to snag qualifying points toward the 2021 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). The prep will offer a total of 85 Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers (50-20-10-5). 

Bred by Joe Peacock Sr. and Joe Peacock Jr. and raced by Peacock Jr., Senor Buscador broke his maiden on debut for Fincher going 5 1/2 furlongs at Remington last November. The son of Mineshaft  returned just over a month later to win the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes by 5 3/4 lengths. He will break from post 5 in Saturday's race with Luis Quinonez in the irons. 

"He has more speed than you've seen, but he just does his own thing," Fincher said, referring to the colt's penchant for late drives down the stretch to victory. "We didn't teach him to do that. We taught him to come from behind but not walk out of the gate and do a slow roll before he does anything. It's so nerve-wracking to watch him run. They get so far back and you think 'What the heck.' But he makes it work."

Senor Buscador will not be the first Derby hopeful campaigned in recent memory by Fincher. In fact, the trainer also conditioned the colt's half brother, Runaway Ghost (by Ghostzapper ), to victory in the 2018 Sunland Derby (G3). While that race qualified the horse to enter the 2018 Run for the Roses, he was later pulled after sustaining an injury during training while at Sunland Park in New Mexico. 

"We hoped he would develop into this kind of horse, but you get let down too many times," Fincher said of Senor Buscador. "We knew he could run quite a bit, but we didn't have any idea he could be this level, but we hoped. But you just never know until you see it on the track. There are no similarities (among his siblings); they are all different. The Peacocks have been great to me, and I've been very fortunate to have them in my corner, and we're really looking forward to seeing what Senor Buscador can do."

Joining Senor Buscador on the Risen Star field will be Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon, who will break next to Senor Buscador from post 6 under Joe Talamo. Trained by Steve Asmussen—who has won two renewals of the Risen Star in 2008 (Pyro) and 2016 (Gun Runner )—the son of Tiznow enters off a Jan. 16 victory at Fair Grounds in the Lecomte Stakes (G3). 

With 16 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby already under his belt, Asmussen said he expects Midnight Bourbon to only get better.

"I think the 1 1/8 miles is right in his wheelhouse, and we're excited about running him in this series because of the distance of these preps," Asmussen said. "He's an efficient mover with a high cruising speed and horses like that can be very effective at Fair Grounds. We were very pleased with how he started off the year, and this is the next step."

Trainer Brad Cox will send out Juddmonte Farms' homebred Mandaloun, who finished third to Midnight Bourbon in the Lecomte. The son of Into Mischief  entered that race 2-for-2 off sprint wins in Kentucky, but did not have enough in reserve to challenge the leaders late and finished just a little over a length behind the winner. Cox has opted to add blinkers to Mandaloun for the Risen Star. 

"I feel like the works with blinkers have shown some progression, and he can take that next step forward with them and have more focus late," Cox said. "He was right there in the Lecomte and he was wide. The two horses that finished in front of us had a little more seasoning, and I think he got a lot out of that race."

While he is entered in the Risen Star, trainer Robertino Diodoro said via text Feb. 10 that Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith, and Spendthrift Farm's Keepmeinmind would remain at Oaklawn Park instead of making the trip to Louisiana. The son of Laoban  had been entered in the Risen Star due to concerns over Arkansas weather. As of now, the likely next start for the colt will be the Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 15 at Oaklawn. 

Entries: Risen Star S. Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2)

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, February 13, 2021, Race 13

• Grade II
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $400,000
• 3 yo
• 6:18 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Starrininmydreams (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	122	Dallas Stewart	12/1
2	2Proxy (KY)	John R. Velazquez	122	Michael Stidham	8/1
3	3Beep Beep (KY)	Miguel Mena	122	Norm W. Casse	20/1
4	4Carillo (KY)	James Graham	122	Thomas M. Amoss	15/1
5	5Senor Buscador (KY)	Luis S. Quinonez	122	Todd W. Fincher	6/1
6	6Midnight Bourbon (KY)	Joseph Talamo	122	Steven M. Asmussen	6/1
7	7O Besos (KY)	Marcelino Pedroza	122	Gregory D. Foley	12/1
8	8Sermononthemount (KY)	Declan Carroll	122	Tim Dixon	50/1
9	9Defeater (KY)	Diego Saenz	122	Thomas M. Amoss	12/1
10	10Santa Cruiser (KY)	Adam Beschizza	122	J. Keith Desormeaux	15/1
11	11Mandaloun (KY)	Florent Geroux	122	Brad H. Cox	9/2
12	12Keepmeinmind (KY)	David Cohen	122	Robertino Diodoro	3/1
13	13Rightandjust (KY)	Mitchell Murrill	122	Shane Wilson	15/1