Super Steed Draws Outside in Sugar Bowl Stakes

With a talented group of juveniles signed up for the $75,000 Sugar Bowl Stakes Dec. 22 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, it's safe to say the track's upcoming graded stakes for 3-year-olds—if not the spring classics—are at least a thought for some of the connections.

Drawing outside in a field of nine for Saturday's six-furlong test is Michael Pressley and Steed Jackson's Super Steed, who appeared to take a big step forward in his second outing for trainer Larry Jones. The son of 2010 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Super Saver  finished a close second in his Oct. 25 debut to Boldor at Keeneland.

For the colt's second start, Jones skipped the maiden condition in favor of a Nov. 24 optional-claiming allowance test at Churchill Downs. In that 6 1/2-furlong race on a sloppy track, Super Steed rallied from 10th place, eight lengths back, to seize the lead in the stretch before he drew off to a six-length score. After earning an 88 Equibase Speed Figure in his debut, he secured a 97 in his second start.

Jockey Gabriel Saez was aboard for those first two races and will guide Super Steed in his stakes debut Saturday.

At 4-1, Super Steed is the second choice on the morning line with Something Special Racing's Hog Creek Hustle favored at 7-2. The son of 2013 Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Overanalyze  enters off a victory in a seven-furlong optional-claiming allowance Nov. 10 at Churchill. Before that win, Hog Creek Hustle won his maiden special weight debut in August at Ellis Park and finished off the board in the two-turn Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill in September.

The field also includes Dwight Pruett's impressive Churchill maiden winner Gray Attempt, a son of Graydar  trained by William "Jinx" Fires. Fires won the 2010 Sugar Bowl with Archarcharch, who went on to win the 2011 Arkansas Derby.

"He's a nice little horse," Fires said. "I was going to run him at Remington in the Springboard Mile (Dec. 16), but it came up pretty tough and he had only broken his maiden, so I figured he probably would end up on the also-eligible list. He's also never been two turns either, so that's another reason why I didn't run him there, so I decided to go to New Orleans."

Since the Nov. 25 maiden win, Gray Attempt has turned in a pair of five-furlong works at Oaklawn Park.

"He's coming in real well," Fires said. "We've blown him out a couple times at Oaklawn. As a matter of fact, I breezed him the day before I entered him to make sure he was 100%, so he's doing real well. We're pleased with the way he's going in."

Also on the Fair Grounds card, which will feature six $75,000 stakes, is the Letellier Memorial Stakes for juvenile fillies. In that expected field of 10, Scott and Evan Dilworth's Lady T N T is favored in her first start since an off-the-board finish in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland. 

Before that two-turn effort, the daughter of Justin Phillip  won a maiden race at Saratoga Race Course and an optional-claiming allowance at Churchill by a combined 12 lengths for trainer Joe Sharp.

Entries: Sugar Bowl S.

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, December 22, 2018, Race 11

• STK
• 6f
• Dirt
• $75,000
• 2 yo
• 5:20 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Uncapped (KY)	Florent Geroux	116	Brendan P. Walsh	12/1
2	2Sovereign Impact (KY)	Adam Beschizza	118	William J. Denzik, Jr.	12/1
3	3Gray Attempt (KY)	Shaun Bridgmohan	116	William H. Fires	6/1
4	4Cajun Firecracker (FL)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	122	Steven M. Asmussen	9/2
5	5Hog Creek Hustle (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	122	Vickie L. Foley	7/2
6	6Sambucca (KY)	Joseph Rocco, Jr.	116	Steve Margolis	15/1
7	7Manny Wah (KY)	Channing Hill	122	Wayne M. Catalano	9/2
8	8Assemblyman (KY)	Joe Bravo	116	Michael Stidham	6/1
9	9Super Steed (KY)	Gabriel Saez	122	J. Larry Jones	4/1