Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute – Overseen, by First Defence) scored a huge upset in the $200,000 Lecomte Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds racecourse in New Orleans on Jan. 22, an early stepping stone on the trail to the Kentucky Derby (G1).
It was a big win for the Keith Desormeaux-trained colt who went through four sales since he was just a weanling in 2019. Bred by Hartwell Farm in Kentucky, Call Me Midnight was a $25,000 purchase at the Keeneland November Sale by Milton Lopez and a year later, bought back for $37,000 as a yearling at the 2020 Keeneland September sale.
A month later at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Two-Year-Old and Horses of Racing Age Sale, he was bought for just $17,000 by Team Work Horseman Group.
Last March he went through the OBS March Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale and was bought by Cantrell for $80,000. The colt won his maiden in his fifth career start last November at Churchill Downs.
Settled eighth of nine early under jockey James Graham in the 1 1/16ths mile Lecomte, the 28.50-1 longshot Call Me Midnight chased fast fractions of 23.40 and 47.01 set by Gun Runner winner Epicenter, the 1.60-1 second choice. Gaining momentum on the backstretch, he swung six-wide on the turn and sustained his bid to the wire, catching the pacesetter in the final stride to win by a head in 1:44.36, earning ten Kentucky Derby points in the process. It was another ¾ of a length back to the 1.50-1 favorite Pappacap in third.
“They went quick early,” Graham said. “He settled real nice. Halfway down the backside I said, man I’m going to get a piece of this. He was getting to them (the leaders) easy without me having to ask him. Halfway around the second turn I said, well, I just need a spot to go. I wheeled him out down the stretch, gave him all the daylight, and he flew home like he did at Churchill when he broke his maiden. He did it the right way and finished it off perfect.”
Desormeaux and Graham are no strangers to pulling off big upsets in Louisiana Derby (G2) prep races, having teamed up to win the 2012 Risen Star (G2) at 135-1 with Ive Struck a Nerve.
Even though the early fractions were taxing, Winchell Thoroughbreds Epicenter, who dominated the inaugural Gun Runner Stakes on December 26 at Fair Grounds was valiant in defeat for trainer Steve Asmussen.
“He tried really hard,” jockey Joel Rosario said. “He’s a very big horse, very straightforward, everything he does. I know we got beat but he still ran a nice race.”
The most accomplished horse in the field with a grade two win a pair of grade one placings under his belt, Rustlewood Farm’s Pappacap enjoyed a dream run from an inside stalking position. He engaged Epicenter at the quarter-pole and battled him into the deep stretch, only to be turned away in the final sixteenth.
“He fought all the way down the lane,” jockey Joe Bravo said of the Mark Casse trainee. “Both (he and Epicenter) are special horses. They got into a fight and guess what happens, it set up for somebody else to run by both of us.”
That “somebody” was Call Me Midnight, who boosted his career earnings to $221,806 while winning for just the second time in his career (7-2-1-0). He also banked ten Kentucky Derby points. After earning 4 and 2 points respectively, Epicenter and Pappacap are tied atop the leaderboard with 14 apiece. Trafalgar earned one point for his fourth place Lecomte finish.
Next up in the Fair Grounds 3-year-old series is the $400,000 Risen Star (G2) on February 19.
“I can’t see why not,” Desormeux said when asked about Call Me Midnight’s potential participation. “Hell, it’s a month away. That’s an eternity the way I run ‘em, but yes, absolutely.”
~ with files from Fair Grounds media
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