Instilled Regard Better Than Going in After Lecomte

OXO Equine's Instilled Regard exited his triumph in the Jan. 13 Lecomte Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in fantastic fashion according to Christina Jelm, the assistant for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

"I would say he came out better than he did going in," Jelm said. "He was not tired at all and it was as if he went out for a regular morning gallop. He wouldn't have blown out a candle after the race. He wasn't breathing hard and he kind of wanted to go around there again. He took to the track very well."

WINCZE HUGHES: Instilled Regard Much the Best in Lecomte Stakes

The Arch colt's next start has yet to be determined, but Jelm said Hollendorfer and owner Larry Best would put their heads together to find the right spot.

"(Owner Larry Best) educates himself to the extreme and he really does his research," Jelm said. "After this I think he'll come up with some ideas and then Jerry will have some ideas since he has done this for a while, but they will come up with a plan for the next step moving forward.

"It's apparent that the horse gets over this surface well and it didn't take anything out of him. If anything, it put a lot more into him. It put a lot more confidence into him and took his fitness level to a higher level. He's a very professional horse and very classy."

Instilled Regard was a $1.05 million purchase at the 2017 Ocala Breeders' Sales March sale of 2-year-olds in training.

"Physically he is exactly that," Jelm said. "He is unbelievable physically and his pedigree is dreamy."

Following his victory in the Lecomte, Instilled Regard currently sits at No. 6 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 14 points. The next of the local preps for the Churchill Downs' classic is the Feb. 17 $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2), which awards the top four finishers qualifying points on a 50-20-10-5 scale.

Meanwhile, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen discussed future plans for his trio of runners Principe Guilherme, Snapper Sinclair, and Zing Zang who ran a respective second, third, and fourth in the Lecomte.

"I'm really happy with how all of them came back," Asmussen said. "Obviously I'll see how they go back to the racetrack and go from there. They ran well without the perfect outcome, but they ran solid and are still in the mix. They'll all go back to the track here. Whether they all go back in the Risen Star or find other places have yet to be determined."

The Lecomte was the first try on dirt for Bloom Racing Stable's Snapper Sinclair since a well-beaten sixth in his career debut at Saratoga Race Course. Asmussen switched surfaces with the horse and two starts later won the Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase Juvenile Stakes at Kentucky Downs in September.

"(Snapper Sinclair) is a talented horse and he is a quality City Zip, which leads towards versatility," Asmussen said. "We are anxious for the races to go further (with Zing Zang)."