Proxy, Mandaloun Meet Again in Louisiana Derby

The addition of blinkers to Mandaloun contributed to his victory in the Feb. 13 Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

Now the colt that chased him in that race, runner-up Proxy will follow suit with blinkers added, a move his connections hope can help him turn the tables March 20 in the $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), the premier race of the New Orleans track's season. The race offers qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby on a 100-40-20-10 scale to its top four finishers.

With the exception of California raider Hot Rod Charlie, the Louisiana Derby is a local affair with many participants already tested against one another. Six of the seven locals raced in the Risen Star, a race Mandaloun won by 1 1/4 lengths over Proxy, with Lecomte Stakes (G3) winner Midnight Bourbon another half-length back in third.

All three are back Saturday as well as O Besos, who rallied for fourth, pacesetter Rightandjust, who tired to sixth, and Starrininmydreams, ninth after a troubled trip.

Godolphin's Proxy, a homebred by Tapit , will seek to improve upon a Risen Star performance in which he failed to keep pace with an advancing Mandaloun late down the backstretch and early on the second turn, before re-engaging under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. His runner-up finish was one of several for him in five starts, which includes two route wins late last year at Fair Grounds.

"If you look at all of his races here at the Fair Grounds, in every race you can kind of see him doing a little erratic stuff, whether it be shying away, drifting out, or losing focus like he did in the Risen Star," said trainer Mike Stidham. "You can't win Kentucky Derbies or Louisiana Derbies by doing that."

Proxy has since worked three times with blinkers, leading Stidham to feel the equipment will move his colt forward, as will the distance of the Louisiana Derby. At 1 3/16 miles, the race is the longest Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier in the U.S.

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

The Louisiana Derby drew a small cast, six fewer runners than the full field of 14 that filled the gate in 2020 during its first year when extended to its current distance.

Favored at 8-5 on the morning line is Juddmonte Farms' Mandaloun, another homebred, this one by Into Mischief . More responsive with blinkers in the Risen Star under Florent Geroux, he also benefited from experience gained in the Lecomte, his first route, in which he finished behind Midnight Bourbon and Proxy.

Already with 52 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) to rank third on the points leaderboard, he is less in need of Saturday's points than others. But trainer Brad Cox, who won last year's Louisiana Derby with Wells Bayou, understandably hasn't backed off his training of the colt for a $1 million race, calling Mandaloun's last two works "phenomenal."

"The goal is to get the job done on Saturday," said Cox, who won the 2020 Louisiana Derby with Wells Bayou. "He's going to have six weeks to recover, if he runs the way we hope he should, to point to the Kentucky Derby."

Cox is not the only trainer with a runner Saturday that has already won the Louisiana Derby. Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, who trains  Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon, previously won the race with Fifty Stars (2001), Pyro (2008), and Gun Runner  (2016). Winchell Thoroughbreds owned Pyro and co-owned Gun Runner with Three Chimneys Farm.

Gun Runner, the eventual 2017 Horse of the Year, ran third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby, one of the best recent finishes by a Louisiana Derby winner.

Grindstone in 1996 was the last horse to win both the Louisiana Derby and Kentucky Derby, though Country House , fourth in the 2019 Louisiana Derby, won the Run for the Roses in 2019 upon the disqualification of Maximum Security .

Midnight Bourbon, by Tiznow, seems likely to receive a pace-pressing trip just off longshot Rightandjust, who has drawn toward the inside.

Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, and William Strauss' Hot Rod Charlie, a longshot second in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) last fall at Keeneland, makes his second start of 2021 after a close third behind Medina Spirit and Roman Centurian in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park Jan. 30.

Joel Rosario, who leads North American jockeys this year by earnings, is back aboard after riding him for the first time in the Lewis.

Leandro Mora, assistant to trainer Doug O'Neill, is the Oxbow  colt's trainer of record for the Louisiana Derby. O'Neill is serving a 10-day suspension this month after another one of his runners tested positive for lidocaine after a race at Santa Anita last fall.

Tom Durant's Run Classic, a 3 1/4-length maiden winner at Fair Grounds Feb. 13, completes the field. He races for trainer Bret Calhoun, who won the 2019 Louisiana Derby with By My Standards.

The Louisiana Derby is one of eight stakes, four graded, at Fair Grounds Saturday. It goes as the last of 14 races at 5:44 p.m. CT.

The race will be shown nationally on NBCSN in a telecast hosted by Britney Eurton with commentary from retired Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss. Programming begins at 5 p.m. CT.

Entries: Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2)

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, March 20, 2021, Race 14

• Grade II
• 1 3/16m
• Dirt
• $1,000,000
• 3 yo
• 5:44 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Starrininmydreams (KY)	Luis Saez	122	Dallas Stewart	20/1
2	2Rightandjust (KY)	Colby J. Hernandez	122	Shane Wilson	20/1
3	3Run Classic (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	122	W. Bret Calhoun	12/1
4	4Proxy (KY)	John R. Velazquez	122	Michael Stidham	7/2
5	5Hot Rod Charlie (KY)	Joel Rosario	122	Leandro Mora	3/1
6	6Mandaloun (KY)	Florent Geroux	122	Brad H. Cox	8/5
7	7Midnight Bourbon (KY)	Joseph Talamo	122	Steven M. Asmussen	5/1
8	8O Besos (KY)	Marcelino Pedroza	122	Gregory D. Foley	15/1