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Mandaloun Strengthens Cox’s Derby Hand With Risen Star Triumph

Racing with blinkers for the first time in his fourth career start, Juddmonte Farms Inc.'s Mandaloun – a homebred colt by Into Mischief – overtook Midnight Bourbon in mid-stretch, then held off a late charge from Proxy to win Saturday's Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La.

Ridden by Florent Geroux, Mandaloun is trained by Brad Cox, who now has three strong prospects for the Kentucky Derby, including last year's G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and 2-year-old champion, Essential Quality and Caddo River, who won the Smarty Jones Stakes on opening day of the Oaklawn meet in Arkansas.

Mandaloun ran the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.39 and paid $6.20 as the favorite. Proxy, a Tapit colt owned and bred by Godolphin, finished second, a half length ahead of Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon in third. O Besos was 5 3/4 lengths back in fourth and 5-2 second choice Senor Busador fifth in the field of 11 3-year-olds. Defeater and Keepmeinmind were scratched. All starters carried 122 pounds and all competed without the race-day anti-bleeder medication Lasix, a requirement for horses to earn Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

The first four finishers received 50-20-10-5 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard

Rightandjust, breaking from the outside post position, rushed up to take the early lead from Midnight Bourbon, who was coming a front-running victory over Proxy and Mandaloun last out in the G3 Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds. Rightandjust set fractions of :23.65, :48.45 and 1:12.74 for the opening six furlongs.

Midnight Bourbon was just to the outside of Rightandjust's flank heading into the far turn, Mandaloun just behind that pair, and Proxy to his inside.

Midnight Bourbon edged to the lead inside the quarter pole and was confronted by Mandaloun at the furlong grounds after a mile in 1:37.50. Under aggressive handling by Geroux, Mandaloun put away Midnight Bourbon in the final sixteenth of a mile and had enough to withstand a late charge from Proxy.

“Blinkers on was a difference-maker today for sure,” said Geroux. “We knew he needed it racing, but he's been winning without them. He's always been a little funny down the lane. He's never given me his full potential. Today we had the same kind of trip we had in the Lecomte, but when I pushed on the gas today, he responded right away. Last time I feel like he wasn't giving me his best. He was a little more focused. No problem with the distance. We always thought he had the attitude and the pedigree to go further. It's not like I was saving ground all the way around and he got a little bit short at the end. I was pretty much three-wide all the way around there. I think the longer distance is definitely not going to be a problem for him.”

“More than anything, it was just the experience of having the race going two turns under his belt,” Cox said of Mandaloun. “He's had two great works since so we expected him to move forward, the way he was training. I think the blinkers did help out. Florent immediately made a comment after the race. Much more focused in the post parade, more focused on his job. We didn't put a bunch of cup on him, just like a one-inch cup, but it seems to have done the trick to get him mentally over the top, mentally getting him where he needs to be. It (the Louisiana Derby) is definitely going to be in play. We will talk it over with Garrett O'Rourke and the Juddmonte team and come up with a game plan. I'm very proud of the colt. He stepped up and ran a big race today. That (nine furlongs) is a big ask at any time for a Thoroughbred, and then to do it in February of your 3-year-old year. Garrett has made the comment several times that he thinks he's a mile-and-a-quarter-horse and he trains like one. He's got enough speed to be close and he stays on. He's got the physical make-up of a mile-and-a-quarter horse so we're optimistic he'll get better with more ground.”

Michael Stidham, who trains runner-up Proxy, said he was pleased with the colt's race.

“We all know that we're all hoping that we can be as good as we can be on a certain day (for the Kentucky Derby),” Stidham said. “He's inching in the right direction. I talked to Johnny (Velazquez) and his first impression was maybe blinkers. You can see going into the turn he dropped back like he was out and done. And then Johnny had to get after him, and when he did, he engaged again, then it looked like we might even get to the winner. He said if he just holds his position on the turn, he thinks we would have won. So again, I think it's a little bit of greenness and running a little spotty. The main thing is you want them to come out of these races healthy, you have something to work with, and you can inch forward and culminate for the big day in May. We'll experiment with the blinkers in the morning and if we feel like it's an added improvement, we'll try. The (March 20) Louisiana Derby would be the obvious next spot if he's healthy and ready to go. I asked Johnny and he thought the added distance was going to continue to help him, rather than hurt him, and that's huge at this stage.”

“He made a solid run. He faced a little more pace pressure this time than he did in the Lecomte. But I think you see the top-3 there are extremely tough horses and are going to be heard from again.”

Midnight Bourbon's jockey, Joe Talamo, was impressed with the fight his mount showed down the stretch. “I was smiling the whole way,” Talamo said. “He still has some upside. Obviously the winner got to me and went by, but what impressed me the most was he was still fighting the whole way. A lot of horses, when they get passed, they cave in, but he was still fighting. I still believe the further the better with him. You're never going to get everything your own way but the other horse (sixth-place finisher Rightandjust) was going pretty hard, and that didn't help us. I would have liked to have sat a little off, but that first eighth (of a mile) didn't help but I was proud of him.”

Produced from the Empire Maker broodmare, Brooch, a Group 2 winner in Ireland, Mandaloun was winning for the third time in four starts. He won on debut at Keeneland last October going six furlongs, then added a seven-furlong allowance victory at Churchill Downs the following month. The Lecome on Jan. 16 was his initial two-turn test and 2021 debut.

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This Side Up: Proxy Steps In to Try that Unique Fit

Derby dreams at this time of year can prove as ephemeral as the vapours rising into the glacial air of Hot Springs. But the owner of the champion juvenile knows perfectly well that plans, with Thoroughbreds, can only ever be provisional–and that the postponement of Monday's Oaklawn card is a relatively trivial inconvenience to Essential Quality (Tapit). To recall the graver vexations that can unravel a Derby colt, Sheikh Mohammed needs only rewind to the last cycle, and the last colt that offered to requite perhaps the greatest single ambition still animating the biggest bloodstock empire in the breed's history.

Anyone with a sophomore of elite potential knows the highwire that axiomatically permits every Thoroughbred foal one opportunity, and one only, to contest the Kentucky Derby. If, with the approach of his third summer, he is not fit and well on the first Saturday in May, then fortune will never indulge him with a second chance. There might yet be greatness, a Travers or a Breeders' Cup. But there will be no Derby.

In 2020, however, the unprecedented (and arguably unnecessary) disordering of the Classic calendar offered some horses a reprieve even as it destroyed the fortunes of others. Nadal (Blame) and Charlatan (Speightstown) showed their readiness for the appointed hour, when the same track that is frozen this weekend salvaged an appropriate Grade I for sophomores on Derby day. Both colts, however, were sidelined by the time Churchill eventually staged a September Derby. In contrast, Maxfield (Street Sense) had appeared to be thrown a lifeline after a layoff that would have made a normal Derby very tight, if not impossible–only to be derailed by another setback in the summer.

Happily, Maxfield made a seamless resumption before Christmas to nourish hope the patience of all involved can be vindicated, and his full potential finally explored, by an uninterrupted campaign at four. Fitting, then, that he should be resuming Saturday in the GIII Mineshaft S.–a race honoring the 2003 Horse of the Year, who built with maturity on foundations laid so carefully in his European nursery.

Maxfield | Horsephotos

Among horsemen, after all, hope springs eternal. And while Maxfield provides a cautionary context, Godolphin certainly has some exciting young colts. Besides Essential Quality, there's the eye-watering Gulfstream maiden winner Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro); while in yesterday's edition colleague Steve Sherack highlighted the prospects, down the line, of Speaker's Corner (Street Sense). Closer to hand, meanwhile, the deferral of the champion's reappearance switches attention to the aptly named Proxy (Tapit).

The GII Risen Star S. pitches this colt into a rematch with the pair who sandwiched him not only on the GIII Lecomte S. podium, but more or less from the moment the gate opened. That was not so much a horserace as a procession, all three basically holding their positions throughout as Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) controlled a light pace. Seemingly Proxy's rider was intent on engaging Mandaloun (Into Mischief) in the stretch, which possibly helped the leader to hold out. Be that as it may, Proxy gets Johnny V. this time while stretching out to serve a pedigree lavishly seeded by Classic influences. As yet another string to the Tapit bow, alongside Essential Quality and Greatest Honour, Proxy is getting a solid grounding to help add mental maturity (has shied under pressure) to the palpable progress he is making in physical terms.

'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun | Coady

It remains to be seen whether things can play out quite so conveniently for Midnight Bourbon this time, while Mandaloun must excel not to get caught wide again from gate 11. He certainly has the kind of family that is now supporting his sire, freshly gilded by Authentic, as a bona fide Classic stallion. Indeed, beyond the mare who became agent of its transfer to Juddmonte (bred first three dams), there's an unbroken Whitney line going back to 1918!

The big story bubbling under this race, of course, is Senor Buscador (Mineshaft). Joe Peacock, Jr.'s homebred looks an explosive talent and could put a smile on many faces at Remington Park, in the weeks leading up to May 1, if banking 50 Derby points here. He's a half-brother to Runaway Ghost (Ghostzapper), whose GIII Sunland Derby a couple of years ago remains the solitary graded stakes win among 1,158 overall for Todd Fincher. Veteran racetrackers everywhere would be thrilled to see Fincher consoled for the way Runaway Ghost had to leave the Churchill trail with injury.

Senor Buscador | Dustin Orona

It's not just Sheikh Mohammed, then, who knows how precarious a trek these horses are trying to make. So far as Godolphin is concerned, however, I hope it's right to perceive a wholesome shift in the way their Derby quest is viewed. Whether through its owner or the media, there was always something a little too politicized about winning the race “from the desert.” The Sheikh would still be deservedly gratified to realize that dream, but it would be no less a consummation of his unprecedented Turf career to get the job done from an American barn.

Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}), himself a G2 UAE Derby winner, subsequently confirmed himself as eligible a Derby runner as Godolphin has found–yet his deranged antics on breaking were a bewildering reminder that nobody has ever cracked this challenge until that garland is over your horse's withers.

Proxy | Hodges Photography

Suffice to say, for now, that the Sheikh must be delighted with the work of his Stateside team. Maybe none of these horses will reach a sufficient peak to seize the hour on May 1, but right now nobody can know that. Godolphin, remember, have not even had a dozen Derby runners. People who talk of “failure” or “frustration” are forgetting the exorbitant ratios involved, just to get any colt out of the global crop into the Derby gate. They also need to remember that the more difficult this man finds a challenge, the more he enjoys it; and the more he will persevere.

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Lecomte Runners Rematch in Risen Star

The top four finishers from the GIII Lecomte S. Jan. 16 take their next steps down the GI Kentucky Derby trail Saturday in the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds. A $525,000 KEESEP buy, Lecomte winner Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) was second in the GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill in September and was third in Belmont's GI Champagne S. in October. The bay took the field wire-to-wire in the Lecomte, besting Proxy (Tapit) by a length.

“I think the distance is right in his wheelhouse and we're excited about running him in this series because of the distance of these preps,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “He's an efficient mover with a high cruising speed and horses like that can be very effective at Fair Grounds. We were very pleased with how he started off the year and this is the next step.”

A second-out graduate here in November, Proxy captured a 1 1/16-mile allowance in NOLA Dec. 19 prior to the Lecomte. Juddmonte homebred Mandaloun (Into Mischief) opened his account with a pair of wins, debuting at Keeneland in October and then at Churchill Nov. 28. Prepping for this with a best-of-35 five panels here Feb. 6, the bay adds blinkers for this event. Lecomte fourth-place finisher Santa Cruiser (Dialed In) broke his maiden at third asking at Churchill Nov. 15 before taking the leap to graded company.

'TDN Rising Star' Carillo (Union Rags) looks to make yet another headline if he pulls off the upset here. The bay was quite impressive when capturing his career bow at Aqueduct Jan. 8 for the estate of his late breeder Paul Pompa and trainer Chad Brown. The bay topped the Keeneland January sale days later, selling to bloodstock agent Lauren Carlisle for $875,000, and was sent to Tom Amoss. He makes his first start for Amoss and new owners Greg Tramontin, Joel Politi, Brittlyn Stable and Asaro Enterprises in the Risen Star.

“He trains like he ran and shows a great deal of stamina in the mornings and in his workouts,” Amoss said. “He shows a very good turn of foot at the end. The horse is pretty straightforward since I've gotten him. He needs to show he can make the transition from one to two turns but he's not the only horse like that at this time of year. All things point to that being something he's going to successfully do but he hasn't done it at this point.”

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Equibase Analysis: Santa Cruiser Poised To Upset Risen Star

The Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes will be the 13th race on the 13th day of February with a field of 13 going to post at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La.. If you don't have a case of triskaidekaphobia, defined as fear or superstition about the number 13, this is a fantastic race.

Midnight Bourbon leads the field off his win in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes last month, the local prep for the Risen Star. Proxy finished one length behind in second behind the wire-to-wire winner, with Mandaloun another head back in third, and both attempt to turn the tables on Midnight Bourbon in the Risen Star. Similarly, Santa Cruiser will try to improve off his troubled fourth place effort in the race.

Senor Buscador won the Springboard Mile Stakes impressively by five and three-quarter lengths in December at Remington Park and will attempt to win his second stakes in a row. Then there are a number of recent maiden or allowance winners stepping into stakes company and hoping to make their mark as they head into the Louisiana Derby next month, and hopefully earn points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. That group consists of Carillo, Defeater, O Besos, Rightandjust, Sermononthemount and Starrininmydreams. Beep Beep rounds out the field coming into the race off a fourth place effort behind Rightandjust in an allowance race at Fair Grounds.

I'm going to pick Santa Cruiser for the upset in the Risen Star, even after finishing fourth and nearly 10 lengths behind the top three finishers in the Lecomte Stakes last month. The reason is a simple one: I feel if not for significant trouble at the start of that race Santa Cruiser would have at least finished second. Additionally, he had been off for two months prior to the Lecomte so he has improving to do second off the layoff. Last summer, Santa Cruiser debuted at six furlongs and finished third, then stretched out to seven furlongs and improved to finish second. When stretched out again to a mile in November, Santa Cruiser won while leading from the start but it was not an easy win as he was headed after six furlongs and had horse come to him on both sides in the stretch, digging in and drawing off. That effort earned a strong 95 Equibase Speed Figure, the best maiden winning figure in the field.

Rested to return as a 3-year-old off that win, Santa Cruiser was decently regarded by bettors at seven to one in the Lecomte Stakes but got bumped and shut off at the start, losing more than a few lengths. Not asked for any speed while last of eight for the first half-mile, Santa Cruiser showed a decent amount of ability and instinct, passing all but the three who were well ahead when the field turned for home. Getting a jockey change to Adam Beschizza, who is fighting for the riding title head and head with James Graham, and with a clean start and better early position as compared to the Lecomte, Santa Cruiser can be in the thick of the action from the start and post the upset win in this year's Risen Star.

Midnight Bourbon has done little wrong in five career starts to date, finishing second in the Iroquois Stakes in only the second start of his career last summer then winning the Lecomte Stakes last month. The 99 figure is the second best earned by any horse in the Risen Star field to date and it is likely to be improved upon as Midnight Bourbon is making his second start after three months off. Although he won the Lecomte leading from start to finish, Midnight Bourbon has shown the ability to pass horses such as in the Iroquois when fifth in the early stages then first with an eighth of a mile to go before settling for second. Being a half-brother to 2017 Louisiana Derby winner Girvin, there's little doubt this colt can run as well or better at the nine furlong trip of the Risen Star as he did in the shorter Lecomte Stakes and as such Midnight Bourbon could be a formidable opponent once more.

Senor Buscador stretched out off a visually impressive seventh to first win at five and one-half furlongs in his November debut to win the Springboard Mile Stakes just as impressively in his second career start the next month. In that race, Senor Buscador was last of 10 for the first half-mile and more than 10 lengths back, but went from eighth to first on the turn while circling the field wide, eventually drawing off to a five and three-quarter length win. The 107 figure is by far the best earned by any horse in the Risen Star field and being as this race will be only the third start of his career, Senor Buscador has every right to improve off the effort. His pedigree also suggests the mile and one-eighth trip will be within his reach, as he is a half-brother to 2018 Sunland Park Derby winner Runaway Ghost. Additionally, a STATS Race Lens query shows how well trainer Todd Fincher does keeping his horses in top form, having won eight of 27 (30%) dirt route races over the past few years when his horse won its previous start.

A number of other horses have a chance to finish second or third, including the Lecomte second and third place finishers, Proxy (97 figure) and Mandaloun (97 figure), respectively. However watching the race not only were they no match for Midnight Bourbon I felt both ran pretty evenly in the last eighth of a mile and I don't expect enough improvement to turn the tables in the Risen Star.

The rest of the field, with their best representative Equibase Speed Figures, is Carillo (86), Defeater (84), O Besos (94), Rightandjust (90), Sermononthemount (72), Starrininmydreams (88) and Beep Beep (91).

Win Contenders:
Santa Cruiser
Midnight Bourbon
Senor Buscador

Risen Star Stakes – Grade 2
Race 13 at Fair Grounds
Saturday, February 13 – Post Time 7:18 PM E.T.
One and One Eighth Miles
3-Year-Olds
Purse: $400,000

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