By Alan Carasso
With the abrupt cancellation of racing indefinitely at Aqueduct and the announcement earlier this week that Keeneland has canceled its Spring Meeting, Saturday's GII Louisiana Derby offers one of the final few springtime opportunities at amassing points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, now tentatively scheduled to be contested on the first Saturday of September. The centerpiece of the meet in New Orleans, the Louisiana Derby will be run over a mile and three-sixteenths for the first time and is one of four races scheduled to be run over the next three weeks that offers points on a 100-40-20-10 scale.
Trainer Mark Casse sent out last year's beaten LA Derby favorite War of Will (War Front), but has two chances to make amends here. John Oxley's Enforceable (Tapit) is the 7-2 morning-line favorite in the 14-strong field, having followed in War of Will's hoofprints in taking the GIII Lecomte S. Jan. 18, defeating Silver State (Hard Spun). He most recently rallied from last to complete the exacta behind the now-sidelined Mr. Monomoy (Palace Malice) in the faster division of the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 15. Julien Leparoux retains the call on the full brother to Mohaymen, who looks have held his form in a pair of strong maintenance drills in the interim.
The second of the two Casse runners is Lynn's Map (Liam's Map), who will break from gate 12, two doors down from his stablemate. The dark bay got the better of Mr. Monomoy in a sloppy two-turn allowance over this strip Dec. 21, retreated to be fifth in the Jan. 24 Smarty Jones S. in Hot Springs and was a latest sixth in the slower split of the Risen Star, but made up stacks of ground from last through the final three furlongs. He should find this distance to his liking.
Modernist (Uncle Mo) argued the pace inside of Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic) in the Risen Star, shook free from that one into the final eighth of a mile and held off Major Fed (Ghostzapper) by a length. Drawn pole position on that occasion, he could be trapped out a bit wide with speed types Wells Bayou (Lookin At Lucky)–runner-up in the GIII Southwest S.–and the aforementioned Ny Traffic drawn inside him.
California raider Royal Act (American Pharoah) has some longshot appeal. The bay, a $500,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, was an 18-1 chance trying dirt for the first time in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. at Santa Anita Feb. 1 and was consigned to a three- and four-wide trip, but stayed on very gamely to run then-undefeated Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) to three-quarters of a length while traveling an additional 40 feet, per Trakus data.
Chestertown (Tapit), last year's $2-million OBS March topper, is liable to get bet down some from his 15-1 morning line off his horror trip in an allowance on the Risen Star undercard, in which he was all dressed up with nowhere to go in upper stretch and got home well, but too late, behind Shake Some Action (Into Mischief).Lous
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