Mo Tom Hopes to Rebound in LA Derby

G M B Racing's GIII LeComte S. hero Mo Tom (Uncle Mo) looks to return to winning ways in Saturday's GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby after a troubled-trip third last time in the

GII Risen Star S. Feb. 20. After defeating fellow G M B colorbearer Tom's Ready (More Than Ready) in last term's Street Sense S., the Tom Amoss pupil was third in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Nov. 28, which has proven to be a key race on the Road to the GI Kentucky Derby, and kicked off his sophomore campaign with a decisive win over Tom's Ready and Uncle Walter (Uncle Mo) in the Jan. 16 LeComte. Last early in the Risen Star, the dark bay was making a strong move up the rail in early stretch when he was forced to check sharply, resulting in cuts to his foreleg, and gamely re-rallied on the outside to be third behind Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Forevamo (Uncle Mo). A win Saturday would be the first in this event for Amoss, who was born and raised in Louisiana.

“I certainly have a concern as to how fast they will run early in this race,” Amoss commented during an NTRA teleconference Tuesday. “This is a very determined horse. He's not just a horse who is going to pick up the pieces at the end of the race. This is a horse that has a devastating quarter-mile kick. Unfortunately, it wasn't on full display [in the Risen Star], but I am certainly hoping we will get to show it on Saturday and the rest of the world can see what I already know.”

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm's Gun Runner opened his account with a pair of wins, first at Churchill Sept. 11 and then at Keeneland Oct. 17. Finishing behind Mo Tom when fourth in the Kentucky Jockey Club, the Steve Asmussen trainee was making his seasonal debut when winning the Risen Star and has been working well since, including a best-of-34 five-panel breeze in 1:00 3/5 here Mar. 14.

Risen Star runner-up Forevamo also represents the home team of Louisiana native Evelyn Benoit's Brittlyn Stable and trainer Al Stall, Jr., who has also never won his birth place's most prestigious race. Victor of Delta Downs' Jean Lafitte S. prior to a sixth in the GIII Delta Downs Jackpot S. last fall, the bay finished second behind Risen Star pacesetter Candy My Boy (Candy Ride {Arg}) in an optional claimer here Jan. 18 and came running late to miss by just a half-length in the Risen Star.

“If the race stretches in that first part, I would like to be near the first flight,” Stall remarked to the Fair Grounds press team. “It's hard to give instructions in a race like this. I would never tell [jockey Colby Hernandez] to take back if he didn't need to.”

New York-based conditioner Dominick Schettino shakes things up by shipping GI Champagne S. winner Greenpointcrusader (Bernardini) in for this test instead of waiting for his home state's next prep, the GI Wood Memorial S. Apr. 9. Owned by St. Elias Stable, MeB Racing Stables and Brooklyn Boyz Stables, the dark bay was an impressive 4 1/2-length victor of a sloppy renewal of Belmont's Champagne Oct. 3 and came running late to be a disappointing seventh as the favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Oct. 31. Bumped at the start of Gulfstream's GII Holy Bull S. last time Jan. 30, he finished a respectable second behind undefeated early Derby favorite Mohaymen (Tapit) when ridden atypically close to the pace.

“This has been the schedule for him going into the Derby,” Schettino told the Fair Grounds press team. “As long as he runs his race and runs the way he ran in the Champagne, we should be okay. [His style] is one of the reasons we picked this spot. He has a nice finish and it's a long stretch. There are some nice 3-year-olds like Gun Runner and Mo Tom and a few allowance horses who could pop up, too, so it's a tough race.”

No horse from the Todd Pletcher barn can ever be completely dismissed and the seven-time Eclipse winner steps up optional claimer winner Battery (Bernardini) in this spot. A second-out graduate at Gulfstream Park West Nov. 21, the Harrell Ventures runner finished second behind a “TDN Rising Star” performance from Cherry Wine (Paddy O'Prado) in a Hallandale optional claimer Jan. 9. The bay was a decisive two-length winner of a 1 1/8-mile test there last time Feb. 10.

A pair of longshots worth a look are undefeated Dazzling Gem (Misremembered) and Conquest Windycity (Tiznow). Owned by Steve Landers Racing and trained by Brad Cox, Dazzling Gem captured his Oaklawn unveiling with ease Jan. 18, defeating impressive next-out winner American Pioneer (Awesome Again), and followed suit with an allowance win there Feb. 13. Mark Casse thought Conquest Windycity was a Derby horse back in December and gives that runner a chance to prove it here. Fourth in the GIII Iroquois S. as a maiden, the Conquest Stables colorbearer earned his diploma next out in the slop at Keeneland Oct. 2 and made his 2016 debut a winning one in a one-mile test in Hot Springs Feb. 19.