Wells Bayou | Horse Racing Free Tips

Wells Bayou Continues Comeback In Saturday’s Oaklawn Mile

As a star wide receiver during the mid-1980s at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Lance Gasaway is aware of injuries and the lengthy down time between seasons. Wells Bayou, co-owned by Gasaway and his father, Clint, is an equine reminder of that.

A year ago, Wells Bayou was coming off a victory in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds and headed for the Kentucky Derby. Then COVID-19 hit, the Kentucky Derby was moved to September, Wells Bayou finished a disappointing fifth in the second division of the rescheduled $500,000 Arkansas Derby (G1) in May at Oaklawn and bone bruising sidelined the Lookin At Lucky colt for the remainder of 2020.

Wells Bayou, who is trained by Brad Cox, is scheduled to make just his second start since the Arkansas Derby in the $400,000 Oaklawn Mile for older horses Saturday at Oaklawn.

“It's been a long, drawn-out year for Wells,” Lance Gasaway said Wednesday afternoon.

The speedy Wells Bayou, in his only start this year, ran third in the $125,000 Louisiana Stakes (G3) Jan. 16 at Fair Grounds. Wells Bayou was scratched from the $200,000 Mineshaft Stakes (G3) Feb. 13 at Fair Grounds because of a minor illness, Gasaway said, then missed the $500,000 Essex Handicap March 13 at Oaklawn with a foot issue.

“Just been one thing after another with him,” Gasaway said. “It's horrible. We were worried about getting him back. Brad had told me: 'He said Lance, I don't know if we're going to make it back, like in December.' He just got so big. He grew so much and put so much weight on, I think it just took longer to get him in shape. Really felt good after that Louisiana Stakes. Actually, the week before the Mineshaft, he worked a :59.80 (5 furlongs) down there and Brad said, 'Hey, he's ready.' We really thought we had a shot to beat Maxfield. Really did. He was training that well, then had to lay him off a month with all that other crap.”

Wells Bayou returned to Oaklawn last Sunday, according to Jorgito Abrego, who oversees Cox's local division. Wells Bayou made three starts last year in Hot Springs, recording a powerful first-level allowance victory in his two-turn debut before finishing second in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) and fifth behind Nadal in the second division of the Arkansas Derby.

“To be honest with you, this race, Brad thinks this is just going to be another conditioning race,” Gasaway said. “In fact, we're still a race away from getting him back like he was. But it's a shorter race, so we decided to give it a go. Hopefully, we'll run good.”

The Gasaways, who grew up and still reside in southeast Arkansas, purchased Wells Bayou on the advice of bloodstock agent Liz Crow (BSW/Crow Bloodstock) for $105,000 at the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-year-old in training sale. Crow brokered a deal before the Louisiana Derby to bring in BSW/Crow clients Sol Kumin (Madaket Stables) and Marc Lore (Wonder Stables) as partners in the bay son of champion Lookin At Lucky.

Clint Gasaway named Wells Bayou after a small community about 70 miles southeast of Little Rock.

Overall, Wells Bayou has a 3-1-1 record from seven lifetime starts and earnings of $872,793. Wells Bayou (4-1 on the morning line) is among nine horses entered in the Oaklawn Mile. Probable post time for the Oaklawn Mile, the ninth of 13 races, is 4:49 p.m. (Central).

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Maxfield Headlines Mineshaft

Looking at the morning-line and past performances, the GIII Mineshaft S. looks like a one-horse race and that horse is the undefeated Maxfield (Street Sense), who towers over the rest of the field. A debut winner at Churchill in September 2019, the Godolphin homebred romped in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. a month later. The early favorite heading into that year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, he was forced to withdraw from contention just days before the race due to an ankle chip. Returning to action with a late-rallying score in Churchill's GIII Matt Winn S. May 23, Maxfield was knocked off the GI Kentucky Derby trail after suffering a condylar fracture in his right front leg during a breeze at Keeneland in June. Dr. Larry Bramlage performed surgery and the Brendan Walsh trainee made another successful comeback at Fair Grounds, capturing the Dec. 19 Tenacious S. Runner-up Sonneman (Curlin) and third-place finisher Dinar (Union Rags) also return here.

Last term's GII Louisiana Derby victor Wells Bayou (Lookin at Lucky) makes his second start of 2021 here. Fifth in Nadal (Blame)'s division of the GI Arkansas Derby in May, he was also forced off the Derby trail last summer due to bone bruising. The bay returned in NOLA Jan. 16, finishing third in the GIII Louisiana S.

The regally bred Enforceable (Tapit), winner of the GIII Lecomte S. in 2020, romped by eight lengths in a track-and-trip optional claimer Jan. 17, earning a 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

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Title Ready Notches First Stakes Victory, Upsetting Blackberry Wine And Wells Bayou In Louisiana

Spoiling the comeback of Wells Bayou, winner of the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in 2020, the Charles Fipke homebred Title Ready kicked in with a strong stretch punch to win the G3 Louisiana Stakes for older horses at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., on Saturday.

Ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., the Dallas Stewart-trained son of More Than Ready covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.27, winning by 1 1/4 lengths and paying $13 as the fifth choice in the wagering. Seven horses went postward, with Wells Bayou the 2-1 favorite and Blackberry Wine second choice at 3-1.

Blackberry Wine outhustled Wells Bayou – making his first start since a fifth-place finish in a division of the G1 Arkansas Derby last May 2 – taking the early lead under Adam Beschizza and setting fractions of :25.28, :49.53 and 1:13.91 for the opening six furlongs.

Wells Bayou, who won the 2020 Louisiana Derby alone on the lead, chased throughout, while Title Ready raced in fourth, about three to four lengths behind the leader.

As Wells Bayou tried to challenge the leader, Hernandez got Title Ready rolling on the outside into the stretch and had 1 1/2 lengths to make up with a furlong to run. He gained command in the final sixteenth after a mile time of 1:38.05 and pulled away for the victory.

The win was the fifth in 25 career starts for the 6-year-old Title Ready, who was coming off a 10th-place finish behind Bodexpress in the G1 Clark and before that was seventh to Authentic in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic. Produced from Title Seeker, an unraced daughter of champion Personal Ensign, Title Ready was graded stakes placed several times but the Louisiana was his first stakes victory.

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Louisiana Derby Winner Wells Bayou Makes Long-Awaited Return At Fair Grounds

It's been a long road back but Clint and Lance Gasaway, Madaket Stables, and Wonder Stables' Wells Bayou, who won last year's Louisiana Derby (G2), makes his much-anticipated return in Saturday's $125,000 Louisiana Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots IN New Orleans, La. The 1 1/16-mile race is a key supporting feature on the six-stakes Road to the Derby card and could prove the pivotal comeback race in a 2021 handicap division lacking any true standouts.

Carded as race 10, the Louisiana is the second leg of the $100,000 guaranteed “All Stakes Pick Five” and the first leg of the $150,000 guaranteed “All Stakes Pick Four”. Both sequences conclude with the Lecomte Stakes (G3), which is carded as the finale on a 13-race extravaganza.

Wells Bayou, who drew post 8-of-9, was installed by Mike Diliberto as the lukewarm 3-1 morning line favorite with regular rider Florent Geroux in tow. The 4-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky stamped himself as a legitimate Kentucky Derby (G1) contender for trainer Brad Cox when he won the local Derby in gate-to-wire fashion last March. Things didn't go accordingly to plan from there, however, as Wells Bayou was a distant fifth after dueling on the lead in the May 2 Arkansas Derby (G1) and hasn't been seen since.

“We worked him a time or two after the Arkansas Derby and we weren't happy with the works,” Cox said. “We sent him off for a bone scan. There was nothing major going on, just a little bone remodeling and young horse stuff, you know, some wear and tear. He just needed some time off and he got that.”

Should he rediscover his form, Wells Bayou, who is 3-for-6 lifetime, would be a major addition to a handicap division there for the taking at the start of 2021. The Louisiana is clearly just a start to what Cox hopes is a serious campaign, which is why he may not be at his absolute best Saturday.

“He's been a little slow to get back on track,” Cox said. “He was very heavy when he came in. His last few works at Oaklawn have been really sharp. The race (Louisiana) was there so we would enter and take a good look at it and it looks like a really good comeback spot for him.”

Calumet Farm's homebred Blackberry Wine (post 4 at 9-2 with Adam Beschizza), was an easy 5 ½-length winner of a local December 13 optional-claimer for trainer Joe Sharp. The 4-year-old son of Oxbow has long been held in high regard by his connections in a Jekyll and Hyde career that has seen some big wins and disappointing efforts as well. Blackberry Wine is 2-for-11 lifetime, which includes a distant seventh in the Risen Star here last February, but Sharp believes the arrow is pointing up leading into the Louisiana after such a dominant win.

“We felt really good coming into the Fair Grounds race last time,” Sharp said. “That was the old Blackberry Wine and numbers-wise, it was even better than the old Blackberry Wine. The timing is good. He's had a few good works since then. It doesn't look like there is a lot of speed in the race, which plays into our hand. He doesn't have to be on the lead, but he likes to be close early, that's for sure.”

Charles Fipke's homebred Title Ready (post 6 at 6-1 with Brian Hernandez Jr.) has been knocking heads with some of the best horses in the country the past few years for trainer Dallas Stewart. He enters Saturday's assignment off a seventh in the Breeders' Cup Classic November 7 at Keeneland in November and a 10^th in the Clark at Churchill Downs 20 days later. The 6-year-old son of More Than Ready is 4-for-24 lifetime and has hit the board in seven stakes, including a third in the Fayette (G2) at Keeneland in October. There's little doubt Title Ready gets a decided drop in class in the Louisiana, which could result in a long-awaited initial stakes win.

“I think the company will be a little lighter for him and he tries hard every time he runs,” Stewart said. “That's the type of horse you want to be around.”

Courtlandt Farms' Sonneman (post 9 at 4-1 with James Graham) was a closing second to heavyweight Maxfield in the local December 19 Tenacious for trainer Steve Asmussen. The 4-year-old son of Curlin was making his first start against older horses and was much farther back than usual, yet he rallied nicely for the place spot and was well clear of third. Sonneman was second in Churchill's Pat Day Mile (G2) in September and is another who could be a big player in the older horse division this year.

Completing the Louisiana field from the rail out: trainer Gerard Perron's Grand Luwegee (20-1 with Colby Hernandez), who shocked the local December 12 Louisiana Classic over state breds; Lothenbach Stables' Captivating Moon (post 2 at 6-1 with Shaun Bridgmohan), fifth in the Tenacious for trainer Chris Block and also cross-entered in the Colonel E.R. Bradley in R11; Ed and Susie Orr's Silver Prospector (post 3 at 5-1 with Ricardo Santana Jr.), who drops in class after running sixth in Churchill's November 27 Clark (G1) for Asmussen;; Lea Farms' Indimaaj (post 5 at 12-1 with Joe Talamo), who enters off two straight dominant optional-claiming wins at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Jeff Engler; and Don't Tell MY Wife Stables, Monomoy Stables, and West Point Thoroughbreds' My Boy Jack (post 7 at 12-1 with Gabriel Saez), a multiple graded stakes winning 3-year-old in 2018 who goes second-off a 13-month layoff and is also entered in the Bradley for trainer Keith Desormeaux.

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