2011 Lecomte Stakes Sees a Mere Five Runners
- By A.J. Ryder on January 17, 2011 23:12 GMT
Louisiana race fans might be forgiven for thinking they woke up in California as they check out the line-up for this weekend’s next chapter in the road to the Kentucky Derby. The 2011 Lecomte Stakes wound up being a rather underwhelming field of five that ensures we will see a first-rate field lining up in the forthcoming Holy Bull Stakes.
We had initially picked out a promising field of Fair Grounds-based runners but none of them made final declarations so we’ll be examining the confirmed contenders for the Lecomte.
Action Ready (More Than Ready) ranks as a real standout having scored at Allowance-level in his debut effort. He comes from a distinctly dirt-oriented pedigree and, while Southern Halo/Wild Again isn’t exactly a million dollar cross, this contender is closely-related to a pair of stakes winners and he should be set to flourish over 1m. He is more obscure than some in the mix here, but the more-limited-than-expected field in this year’s Lecomte might give him the striking opportunity that connections are looking for.
Pants On Fire (Jump Start) ships in from Aqueduct after a there-or-thereabouts campaign that saw him show and place in his only two attempts. The 2nd place effort came in an allowance/OC while the show came in the ungraded Count Fleet Stakes over the inner track. He is uniquely bred for two turns and is still yet to race below a 1m distance. He broke his maiden against fairly indifferent company at Del Mar back in October and his connections will be banking on a big improvement here. A mud reference would help this three year-old colt but he will likely take a bit of action.
Justin Phillip (First Samurai) has been fairly well-campaigned in his five race career. He enters the race fresh off a score in an allowance/OC at Fair Grounds that wound up being his first test over a mile. It’s clear that connections see a routing future for this three year-old colt and, while the Giant’s Causeway/Cryptoclearance-cross hasn’t exactly been the most high-profile, every horse out of the cross that has raced has won.
