Horse racing fans will have a very full and exciting day of racing to follow on March 25th with huge cards in Dubai (beginning in the morning), Turfway Park in Kentucky, Fair Grounds in Louisiana, and on Sunday, Sunland Park in New Mexico.
Each of those tracks has rich Kentucky Derby stepping-stone stakes races. Canadian Thoroughbred had a preview of the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3), worth $700,000, at Turfway this week. The Jeff Ruby is the only Derby ‘prep’ this weekend that is not run on the dirt as it is on the Tapeta.
Fair Grounds wraps up its winter meeting with its flagship race, the $1,000,000 Louisiana Derby (G2) at 1 3/16 miles. It is race 12 on a 15-race card that begins at 1 p.m. Eastern. The Louisiana Derby goes at 6:42 p.m. Eastern.
The field of 12 in the La. Derby is led by 2-to-1 favourite INSTANT COFFEE (Bolt d’Oro), owned by Gold Square LLC and trained by Brad Cox. This dark bay colt has won three of four races including his last pair, the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes last time, and the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club (at Churchill Downs) last November. Already, Instant Coffee’s Lecomte win has proven to be a strong race as the third-place finisher Confidence Game came back to win the Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park last month.
Trainer Cox has two other starters in the Louisiana Derby: TAPIT’S CONQUEST was a closing fourth in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 18th, while the speedy JACE’S ROAD, winner of the Gun Runner Stakes in December, looks dangerous also.
In the morning, the lavish DUBAI WORLD CUP card begins soon after 7:30 (watch and wager on www.HPIBet.com) and the $1,000,000 UAE Derby (G2) is race 5, set to go at 9:50 Eastern. The 1 3/16 mile race has a field of 13 led by morning line favourite CAIRO (Ire) a son of Quality Road and a winner of 3 of 5 races including the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes on turf at Leopardstown in October and the March 3rd Dundalk Stakes on the all-weather at Dundalk in Ireland. American colts WORCESTER (Empire Maker) and TALL BOY (Lookin at Lucky) are strong contenders.
On Sunday, the $600,000 SUNLAND DERBY, race 10 at Sunland (post time 6:45 eastern) at 1 1/8 miles on dirt is headed by HARD TO FIGURE (Hard Spun), who was second by a neck in the Grade 3 Robert B Lewis at Santa Anita in his last start, and local hope HENRY Q (Blame), co-bred by Toronto’s John Fielding.
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