Tight Ten Aims for First Stakes Win in Lecomte

After finishing second in a pair of graded stakes last year, Tight Ten will attempt to secure his first stakes score when he makes his 3-year-old debut Jan. 19 in the $200,000 Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

After a frontrunning debut maiden win in late June going six furlongs at Churchill Downs, Tight Ten then finished second to Call Paul in the Saratoga Special Stakes Presented by Miller Lite (G2) before stretching out to two turns in the Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill, where the son of Tapit  finished second to Cairo Cat.

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Tight Ten then closed the year with an off-the-board finish in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Churchill. In preparation for his first start of 2019, Tight Ten has worked six times since Dec. 2 for trainer Steve Asmussen, including five straight five-furlong moves at Fair Grounds. 

Asmussen is seeking his third Lecomte victory and also will send out Winchell Thoroughbreds' Wicked Indeed, another Tapit colt who will start from the rail under Brian Hernandez Jr.

Fifteen 3-year-olds (one also-eligible) have been entered in the Lecomte, which is the first Road to the Kentucky Derby points race at Fair Grounds this season, awarding points to the top four finishers on a points scale of 10-4-2-1. Fair Grounds will host two more Derby points races: the Feb. 16 Risen Star Stakes (G2) (50-20-10-5) and the March 23 Louisiana Derby (G2) (100-40-20-10).

Another grade 2-placed starter in the Lecomte field is Imperial Racing's Plus Que Parfait, who closed out last season with a close runner-up finish to Signalman in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs. That race marked the first time Julien Leparoux was aboard and the jockey retains the mount.

Walsh Believes Fair Grounds Suits Plus Que Parfait

Trainer Tom Amoss, a four-time Lecomte winner who most recently won the one-mile-and-70-yard race with Mo Tom in 2016, will send out Roiland, who finished fifth in the Kentucky Jockey Club. The son of Successful Appeal posted a debut maiden win Aug. 31 and scored at two turns in an allowance-optional claiming race Oct. 28 at Churchill, where he was sent off at 28-1.

"The day he ran at Churchill might have been one of the few times in my life that I looked at a horse that was a huge longshot on the board and thought that he should have been 6-5," Amoss said. "He won that day, we ran him back in the (Kentucky Jockey Club) and he ran a troubled fifth. He has progressed really well into his 3-year-old campaign and I am excited about this race, recognizing that he'll be a longshot.

"I know it's going to be a big field and I know that traffic is going to be an issue with a horse that comes from behind like him, but I think he has matured nicely and I think when you look at him in the paddock, you will see a good looking, physical horse that is going to catch your eye."

Malpais, trained by Joe Sharp, boasts a victory over the track as the son of Hard Spun  won a six-furlong maiden race Dec. 22. Saturday will mark his first try at two turns.

"We had two sprints with him but obviously this time of the year you have to try them going longer," Sharp said. "There are a few in there that are just like him that have broken their maiden and obviously it's a huge step up, but he's doing well. I think in the past, horses that have come out of races such as his have done really well in the Lecomte, like (2014 winner) Vicar's In Trouble. I've seen it work before."

Sharp also is encouraged by how Malpais carries himself.

"I think his temperament will give him the ability to get more distance," Sharp said. "A lot of it is just up to them. It's either a part of them or it's not. Obviously the sounder they are mentally, the further it takes them in every aspect. That's the thing with this horse; he handles anything you throw at him well. He's just very mentally sound so it helps him to conserve energy."

Trainer Mark Casse will send out a pair of colts who started their careers on turf but are entered off dirt wins. Gary Barber's War of Will earned a grade 1 placing on turf in the Summer Stakes at Woodbine in September and placed fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). Moved to dirt for a Nov. 24 maiden race at Churchill, the son of War Front  took care of business with a five-length victory.

Casse also will send out Mo Speed for Barber and John Oxley. A maiden winner on turf at Woodbine, the son of Uncle Mo  won an off-the-turf allowance-optional claiming race Dec. 21 at Fair Grounds.

Breaking from post 14 will be Albaugh Family Stables' Admire, who won an off-the-turf maiden race Nov. 24 at Churchill going 1 1/8 miles. The son of Cairo Prince  is trained by Dale Romans.

Entries: LeComte S. (G3)

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, January 19, 2019, Race 12

• Grade III
• 1m 70y
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 3 yo
• 5:49 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Wicked Indeed (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	122	Steven M. Asmussen	12/1
2	2Malpais (KY)	Adam Beschizza	122	Joe Sharp	12/1
3	3Tackett (WV)	Joe Bravo	122	Michael Stidham	6/1
4	4Mr. Money (KY)	Gabriel Saez	122	W. Bret Calhoun	5/1
5	5Night Ops (KY)	Edgar Morales	122	J. Keith Desormeaux	30/1
6	6Hog Creek Hustle (KY)	Florent Geroux	122	Vickie L. Foley	12/1
7	7Roiland (KY)	James Graham	122	Thomas M. Amoss	12/1
8	8War of Will (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	122	Mark E. Casse	6/1
9	9Mo Speed (KY)	Jerome Lermyte	122	Mark E. Casse	20/1
10	10Chase the Ghost (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	122	Dallas Stewart	12/1
11	11Tight Ten (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	122	Steven M. Asmussen	8/1
12	12Plus Que Parfait (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	122	Brendan P. Walsh	9/2
13	13Manny Wah (KY)	Channing Hill	122	Wayne M. Catalano	10/1
14	14Admire (KY)	Robby Albarado	122	Dale L. Romans	20/1
15	15West Texas (KY)	Marcelino Pedroza	122	Bernard S. Flint	20/1