Mo Tom Looks Tough in Lecomte Stakes

Street Sense Stakes winner Mo Tom is the horse to beat in Saturday's Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds. (Photo by Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography)
The 72nd running of the $200,000 Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds gives us a preview of some 3-year-olds aspiring to the road to both the Louisiana Derby and the Kentucky Derby. Leading the field is Mo Tom, most recently third behind Airoforce in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes after winning the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Tom's Ready finished second in the Street Sense before a dismal showing in the Kentucky Jockey Club but rebounded to miss by a head since and has a strong shot as well. Rachel Alexandra's half-brother Dolphus tries stakes company for the first time in only the third start of his career after finishing third behind Tom's Ready last month. Sleepy Hollow Stakes runner-up Fish Trappe Road is one of six horses in the overflow 15-horse field trying two turns for the first time and is one of 10 horses entering the Lecomte off a win or a runner-up effort, making this a very interesting race to handicap and to wager on.
Mo Tom improved from a 64 Equibase Speed Figure in his debut last summer to a very strong 96 figure two races later when winning the Street Sense Stakes on Nov. 1 at the distance of a mile around one turn. Four weeks later he tried two turns for the first time in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, improving to a 98 figure while rallying from 12th of 13 in the early stages to miss second by a head. In the Lecomte it appears there will be a hotly contested early pace with Riding in the Wind, Fish Trappe Road and Pinnacle Peak all wanting the lead from the start, which benefits the late kick of Mo Tom greatly. With Kentucky Jockey Club runner-up Mor Spirit improving tremendously off that effort to win the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity in his next start, Mo Tom should similarly improve as well and that makes him the one to beat in this year's Lecomte Stakes.
Tom's Ready needs a bit of help to get into the Lecomte field as he is on the also-eligible list but if he does draw into the race he could be very tough indeed. Tom's Ready finished second behind Mo Tom in the Street Sense Stakes in November, earning a career-best 95 speed figure in the process, before a dismal eighth-place effort later that month in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. Running at Fair Grounds for the first time last month, Tom's Ready returned to competitive form, battling head-and-head the last eighth of a mile at the distance of the Lecomte. Although he came up a head short on the wire, Tom's Ready earned a 93 figure with the effort and with expected improvement in his second start over the track he could post the mild upset.
Dolphus got a lot of press coming into his debut at Fair Grounds on Nov. 22 as he is a half-brother to 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra. He lived up to the hype as he won that race, albeit with a low 77  figure. Sent around two turns for the first time one month later but giving away two turn and race experience to other runners, Dolphus finished third, 3 ¾ lengths behind runner-up Tom's Ready. With more improving to do, both physically and mentally in only the third start of his career, Dolphus could have an impact in the Lecomte.
Uncle Walter and Tiznoble are two more in the Lecomte field worthy of note. Uncle Walter has run two big races to date, first when winning by a neck in his career debut last fall with a 90 figure, then battling down the stretch gamely and coming up a head short on the wire, improving to a 93 figure. As a son of Uncle Mo (same sire as Mo Tom), Uncle Walter could take another step forward and although he is giving away two-turn experience he cannot be discounted as a contender. Tiznoble ran on turf in his first two career starts including a win at 1 1/16 miles in his debut, which was no easy task. When his last race (Dec. 28 at Fair Grounds) was taken off the turf and run on dirt, Tiznoble stayed in and won gamely by a head, earning an 89 figure. With positive experience over the track and around two turns as a foundation, Tiznoble is yet another horse with a chance to run well in the Lecomte.
The rest of the field, with their best representative Equibase Speed Figures, is Battle Tap (85), Destin (89), Fish Trappe Road (100), Indigo Breeze (65), Mending Fences (90), Noble Thought (86), Pinnacle Peak (93), Riding in the Wind (84), Tarpon Bay Road (85) and Z Royal (86).
My selections:Mo TomTom's ReadyDolphus
$200,000 Lecomte Stakes
Saturday, Race 11, Fair Grounds, 6:21 p.m. ET
One mile and 70 yards, dirt, 3-year-olds

PP

Horse

Jockey

Trainer

Owner

Odds

1

Riding in the Wind

Juan Vargas

Jose Lopez

Bobby Rankin

30-1

2

Fish Trappe Road

Robby Albarado

Bret Calhoun

Martin Racing Stable

6-1

3

Uncle Walter

Miguel Mena

Michael Maker

Ken and Sarah Ramsey

6-1

4

Z Royal

Victor Espinoza

D. Wayne Lukas

Zayat Stables

15-1

5

Dolphus

Brian Hernandez

Joe Sharp

Dede McGehee

10-1

6

Noble Thought

Colby Hernandez

Michael Stidham

Pin Oak Stud

10-1

7

Mo Tom

Corey Lanerie

Tom Amoss

GMB Racing

7-2

8

Battle Tap

Patrick Valenzuela

Steve Asmussen

Winchell Thoroughbreds

10-1

9

Indygo Breeze

Mitchell Murrill

John Haran

Haran Thoroughbreds

50-1

10

Pinnacle Peak

Florent Geroux

Michael Stidham

Mark Breen

8-1

11

Tiznoble

Jose Valdivia Jr.

Joe Sharp

Dell Ridge Farm

10-1

12

Mending Fences

Richard Eramia

Danny Pish

Dennis Foster & Danny Pish

20-1

13

Destin

Julien Leparoux

Todd Pletcher

Twin Creeks Racing

6-1

14

Tarpon Bay Road

James Graham

James Baker

Tom Walters

20-1

AE-15

Tom's Ready

Shaun Bridgmohan

Dallas Stewart

GMB Racing

5-1

AE- AE denotes an entry as Also Eligible, indicating that another horse must scratch for the AE horse to be able to run in the race.