Proxy Returns to Stakes Company in New Orleans Classic

There will be a sense of déjà vu for trainer Michael Stidham when he runs Proxy  in the $500,000 New Orleans Classic (G2) March 26 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

A year ago at this time, Stidham sent out Godolphin's homebred son of Tapit   in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), hoping to secure a spot in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). Proxy was the 3-1 third choice in the 170-point Derby prep, but for the first time in his career, he finished unplaced, winding up fourth behind Hot Rod Charlie .

In a follow-up bid, Stidham wheeled the son of the Include  out of the graded-winning mare Panty Raid  back in the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3), but another fourth-place finish unfolded. It also told Stidham that something was amiss with the graded placed 3-year-old.

"Proxy had some end of the cannon bone bruising and that was affecting him slightly in those races where it looked like he was hanging and not having the big finish that we needed," Stidham said. "He seemed to regress slightly in each of his races. We weren't seeing anything obvious from a soundness standpoint but the performance level was dropping and we felt that there was something that was not right. So we sent him for a bone scan and he did light up in all four legs."

The bone bruising sidelined Proxy for the remainder of his 3-year-old campaign and the time off did wonders to resolve the problem.

Running for the first time in more than 10 months, Proxy returned Feb. 25 with a sharp, 3 3/4-length victory in an allowance optional claiming race at Fair Grounds that stamped him as a major contender for the 1 1/8-mile New Orleans Classic.

"We were very pleased with his first start back in the allowance race," Stidham said. "We were very happy with the way he came back. He's developed mentally and physically for us as a 4-year-old. He's filled out a lot and is more focused. We couldn't be happier with him."

Proxy will face a stiff test in a field of six that also includes Olympiad , Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's Mineshaft Stakes (G3) winner and the fourth-place finisher in the Cigar Mile Presented by NYRA Bets (G1). Olympiad will be heavily favored.

Yet tough competition is nothing new for Proxy, who in separate losing efforts last year finished in front of both Mandaloun , the official winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby, and the multiple grade 1-placed Midnight Bourbon .

"Bill has a nice horse in Olympiad and it will take a lot to beat him, but Proxy has been proven against some of the best horses in the country, like Mandaloun and Midnight Bourbon. He was right there with them and beat both in different races," said Stidham, who will target the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 23 with Proxy if he runs to expectations in the New Orleans Classic.

Olympiad, a son of Speightstown   owned by Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable, and LNJ Foxwoods, secured his initial stakes win in the Mineshaft while raising his record to four wins in seven starts. Bred by Emory Hamilton and bought by Solis/Litt for $700,000 from the Gainesway consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the 4-year-old started 2022 with an 7 1/4-length score in a Jan. 15 allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream Park.

The winner of last year's New Orleans Classic, the Estate of James J. Coleman's Chess Chief , will bid for an encore in the grade 2 stakes. A 6-year-old son of Into Mischief   trained by Dallas Stewart, Chess Chief has won five of 10 starts at Fair Grounds. 

The Virginia-bred is coming off a sixth in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by 1/ST BET (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

Also entered is Erv Woosley and Keith Asmussen's 2021 Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Super Stock , a son of Dialed In   trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen; grade 3 winner Promise Keeper  (Constitution  ); and Happy American  (Runhappy  ), who was fifth in the Mineshaft.

Entries: New Orleans Classic S. (G2)

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, March 26, 2022, Race 9

• Grade II
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $500,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:08 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Promise Keeper (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Todd A. Pletcher	-
2	Olympiad (KY)	Junior Alvarado	122	William I. Mott	-
3	Super Stock (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Steven M. Asmussen	-
4	Happy American (KY)	James Graham	118	Neil L. Pessin	-
5	Proxy (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	118	Michael Stidham	-
6	Chess Chief (VA)	Reylu Gutierrez	118	Dallas Stewart	-