Mr. Misunderstood Set for Super Derby Challenge

Flurry Racing Stable's Mr. Misunderstood will face several ship-in rivals, including Gorgeous Kitten and Sonneteer, as six line up Sept. 9 for the $200,000 Super Derby at Harrah's Louisiana Downs.

Moved to turf for the 2017 edition, the Super Derby is for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles.

Mr. Misunderstood won the Aug. 5 Super Derby Prelude Stakes to earn a berth into the Super Derby, and is undefeated in each of his four turf starts. The gelded son of Archarcharch  is trained by Brad Cox and will break from post 4 under jockey Chris Rosier at morning-line odds of 9-5.

"We were hoping to draw either the 4 or 5 hole, so it worked out well," said owner Staton Flurry. "It's an interesting race for sure, but Brad and I have confidence in our horse on the turf. Hopefully he will run as well on Saturday as he did in the Prelude."

Flurry and Rosier are close friends, so even though Rosier departed Louisiana to ride at Remington Park, he will be back aboard the dark brown gelding Saturday afternoon.

Trainer Mike Maker will ship Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred Gorgeous Kitten. The Kitten's Joy  colt will make his seventh turf start and enters the race off three recent graded stakes appearances at Arlington International Racecourse. He finished second in both the Arlington Classic Stakes (G3T) and American Derby (G3T) before he stepped up to the Secretariat Stakes (G1T) Aug. 12. Gorgeous Kitten came in fifth to Oscar Performance in the Secretariat and will make his Louisiana Downs debut in the Super Derby. Maker and the Ramseys won the 2014 edition of the Super Derby with Vicar's in Trouble, when it was 1 1/8-mile graded event on the main track.

Another strong contender set to make his Louisiana Downs debut is Sonneteer. Bred and owned by Calumet Farm, the son of Midnight Lute  has faced tough company in California and had a solid meet at Oaklawn Park, which was capped by a fourth-place finish in the April 15 Arkansas Derby (G1)  He finished 16th in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) before he returned to California. Trained by Keith Desormeaux, Sonneteer broke his maiden in his turf debut July 23 at Del Mar, where he closed from off the pace to score by a nose. Veteran Louisiana-based rider Gerard Melancon has the call on Sonneteer, the highest earner in the field with $323,685 bankrolled to date.

Brad Grady's Phat Man will ship in for trainer Joe Sharp off a workout at Churchill Downs in search of his first victory on the turf. By Munnings , Phat Man will return to action following a sixth-place finish in the West Virginia Derby (G3) last month. Jockey Roberto Morales will have the call for the first time.

"His dam (Nicole's Dream) is a (multiple stakes) winner on the grass," Sharp said. "We ran him in the Texas Heritage Stakes on the turf at Sam Houston earlier this year and he never picked up his feet, but we wanted to give him another chance. Of course, I wouldn't be upset if it rained and it came off the turf." 

Fast Talkin Man, a Texas-bred son of Oratory trained by Danny Pish, ran second behind Mr. Misunderstood in the Prelude under rider Luis Quinonez. He broke from the rail in the Prelude and drew the inside post again for the Super Derby. Pish was pleased with his effort Aug. 5, but is hoping for a different pace scenario Saturday, one that will set up well for the closing kick of Fast Talkin Man.

"This horse is a deep closer and the fractions did not set him up in the Prelude," Pish said. "He always comes home like a monster."