By Christie DeBernardis
W. S. Farish homebred Eagle (Candy Ride {Arg}) has been knocking on the door of a graded stakes win for quite some time now and was given the morning-line nod to get the job done Saturday in the GII New Orleans H. at the Fair Grounds. Closing out his 2015 campaign with a trio of victories, including this venue's Tenacious S. Dec. 19, the Neil Howard pupil finished second to International Star (Fusaichi Pegasus) as the favorite in the Louisiana S. here Jan. 16. The chestnut came up just a head short of Majestic Harbor (Rockport Harbor) last time in this venue's GIII Mineshaft H. Feb. 20 and gains the services of three-time Eclipe winner Javier Castellano for this try at 1 1/8 miles while breaking from post 10.
“All indications say that you never know until they do it, but I think he will like running a mile and an eighth,” Howard told the Fair Grounds notes team. “I'm thinking with his pedigree and running style, I wouldn't see it as a problem. We won't do anything than we have been doing with him. He always runs hard at the end and is versatile with his style. You can place him where you want him. We'll wait and see and I'll let Javier make those decisions.”
Ken and Sarah Ramsey's International Star was truly the star of New Orleans last term, winning the GIII LeComte S., GII Risen Star S. and GII Louisiana Derby, after which he was benched with a hairline fracture to his left knee. A disappointing fourth to Mobile Bay (Lone Star Special) as the chalk in his return in the Zia Park Derby Nov. 25, the Mike Maker trainee captured the Louisiana S. before finishing fourth in the Mineshaft last time.
“I felt like there wasn't a lot of pace in there last time,” Maker said to the Fair Grounds press office. “I thought it was extremely slow for how the track that was playing that day. It didn't work out, but he's been training great and we're back and ready to go again. I think he's very effective from a mile and a sixteenth to a mile and an eighth and the post shouldn't be too much of a bother, as long as he can make his run.”
Gallant Stable's Majestic Harbor, winner of the 2014 GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita while under the care of Sean McCarthy, looks to make it two in a row for trainer Paul McGee. Runner-up in the GII Marathon S. at Keeneland Oct. 30 and third in the GII Hawthorne Gold Cup Nov. 28, the bay faded to fifth after setting the pace in the Louisiana and wired the field next out in the Mineshaft. He will have some competition on the front end this time in the form of Fox Hill Farms' 2014 GII Amsterdam S. winner Coup de Grace (Tapit), most recently fourth behind Mobile Bay and Jessica's Star (Magna Graduate) in Houston's Maxxam Gold Cup Feb. 27. Also exiting that test is Daniel Dougherty's MGISP Ride On Curlin (Curlin), who finished a head-scratching 10th after completing the trifecta in both the Tenacious and Louisiana.
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