Dalmore Ships East for Super Derby

Up against a trio of older grade I winners in the TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I) Aug. 20, jockey Kent Desormeaux called Dalmore's fifth-place run in the 1 1/4-mile Del Mar summer feature a "learning experience."

Now a familiar set of connections hope that top-level schooling session will pay dividends in the future, which begins Sept. 10 in the $400,000 Super Derby (gr. III) at Louisiana Downs.

The Colonel John   colt trained by Keith Desormeaux and owned by Big Chief Racing looks to bounce back Saturday against fellow grade III victor and last-out Ohio Derby winner Mo Tom in the 1 1/8-mile test.

"California Chrome  —I don't know if anybody could have caught him that day," said Matt Bryan, owner of Big Chief Racing, of the Pacific Classic. "That being said, it was an education.

"We needed to get him to settle and he didn't settle great, but he's training good, he looks great, he's healthy, and he's sound—so we're coming up to the last few races where you can run against only 3-year-olds, and the Super Derby is a big race."

Dalmore, who came into the Pacific Classic following a score in the Affirmed Stakes (gr .III) at Santa Anita Park in July, is who Bryan hopes is the horse of the future for Big Chief Racing. Along with dual grade I winner Exaggerator and retired graded stakes-placed Swipe, the $47,000 yearling buy at Keeneland September in 2014 has completed a dream crop of 3-year-old males for Bryan and his partners.

BALAN: Dalmore Upsets Danzing Candy in Affirmed

"Our goal is to make him a good older horse," Bryan said of Dalmore. "When Keith bought Exaggerator, Dalmore, and Swipe, he loved all three and he put some of his own money in on Dalmore, so you know how he feels about him.

"You dream that they would be this good, but no way did we ever think they'd be as good as they are. That's one heck of a crop. Our total investment was $152,000 for those three. That's as good as it gets."

Keith Desormeaux also said Dalmore figures to be a horse that will continue to progress with age.

"The (Pacific Classic) was his first start in two months and his first against older horses," Keith Desormeaux said. "When (Kent) knew he wasn't getting to the top four, he kinda cruised in, but he's capable of better.

"We're going to do all we can to develop him. “He’s a big, rangy horse, so you know that with time, he’ll only become better."

Bryan is more than comfortable running in Louisiana, only a three-hour drive from his home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Desormeauxs' native state is where Exaggerator shipped in to win the Delta Downs Jackpot (gr. III) last November.

"That's where they both got started really, so we're looking forward to it," Bryan said.

GMB Racing's Mo Tom looms the likely favorite in the field of seven colts following his three-length victory in the Ohio Derby June 25 for trainer Tom Amoss, but Keene Thoroughbreds' Texas Chrome has the advantage of experience over the Louisiana Downs surface.

BALAN: Mo Tom Clear Winner in Ohio Derby

The Texas-bred son of Grasshopper  , trained by J. R. Caldwell, bested grade III winner Sharp Azteca by a half-length Aug. 6 in the Super Derby Prelude Stakes. Texas Chrome has hit the board in all but one start in his 11-race career, which includes five stakes wins at four different racetracks and graded stakes placings in the Matt Wynn Staktes (gr. III) at Churchill Downs June 18 (third) and the Iowa Derby (gr. III) July 1 at Pairie Meadows (second).

Mending Fences (third), Classy Bird (fifth), and Fort Pulaski (seventh) also return from the Prelude. The Farm on 4's homebred Whateverybodywants, a stakes-winning son of Giant Oak   who enters the Super Derby off a second-place run in the West Virginia Derby (gr. II) for trainer Kellyn Gorder, completes the field.