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amoss aims twice at saturday’s sophomore stakes
· Bobby Barnett Seeking New Worlds to Conquer With Alexander Thegreat
· Lecomte Probables Permeate Sunday’s Work Tab
By Graham Ross, Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS (Sunday, January 15, 2012) – Native New Orleanian Tom Amoss has saddled three horses to capture past renewals of this Saturday’s Grade III Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds, but to date he’s never won his hometown oval’s signature event – the $1 million Louisiana Derby, which will be contested this year on April 1.
Nevertheless, that dream remains active, and Amoss has been aiming high with Jerry Namy’s Shared Property since last season, when he brought the altered son of Scat Daddy to
“I’ve always liked (Shared Property),” Amoss said, even before the colt won
“However, he’s training really well now,” updated Amoss at his barn Sunday following Shared Property’s six-furlong Saturday move in 1:15.80. “He still has not won going two turns and that’s one of the things we’re anxiously looking for at this time. The Lecomte should be a good starting point for us, but the screws may not be completely tight just yet on this horse. I expect him to run very well, but we’re also thinking about the rest of the year.”
Saturday’s $175,000 Lecomte Stakes, first leg of a three-race series for 3-year-olds of Triple Crown potential, is the headline event of six stakes worth a total of $650,000 to be run on Saturday’s Road to the
But if Amoss has one shell loaded with Shared Property and the Lecomte as the target, he’s aiming his second barrel at Saturday’s $125,000 Silverbulletday Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, and he’s lined up Pop-A-Top Stable’s Always Here Too for a shot in that race for members of the distaff set.
Saturday’s Silverbulletday Stakes is the initial event of Fair Grounds’ feminine sophomore series, continued by the Grade III Rachel Alexandra Stakes Feb. 25 on Louisiana Derby Preview Day Presented by Lamarque Ford and concludes with the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks on March 31, penultimate day of the local Thoroughbred season.
“Always Here Too ran a great prep race for the Silverbulletday a couple of weeks ago,” said Amoss, speaking of the daughter of Include out of the Lord At War mare Always Sure’s one-length win in a $50,000 allowance optional claiming event Dec. 28. “This is a filly we threw too much at too soon last year, so we gave her some time and now she’s giving us every indication she’s looking forward to trying it all again.”
Always Here Too finished fifth in last year’s Grade III Arlington-Washington Lassie as the post time favorite, and was then third in the $75,000 Blue Hen at Delaware Park before being given a brief vacation. Since her winning effort locally last month, the Paul and Shirley Blake Kentucky homebred breezed 1:01.80 Friday morning at Fair Grounds.
BOBBY BARNETT SEEKING NEW WORLDS TO CONQUER WITH ALEXANDER THEGREAT – Alexander the Great succeeded his father Philip II as a Greek king of Macedon, but the son went on to conquer the entire
Alexander Thegreat is a 3-year-old colt owned by Robert Cartwright, who named him in honor of his own son Alexander. The sophomore homebred is trained by Bobby Barnett, leading conditioner at Oaklawn for a number of seasons when he trained horses for the late legendary
The colt broke his maiden by 1 3/4-lengths going a mile and 70 yards here at Fair Grounds on Dec. 26, and now he going to be asked to expand his own horizons in this Saturday’s Grade III Lecomte Stakes as an initial stepping stone on the road to the $1 million
“We’re going to go in there,” Barnett said during training hours Sunday morning when asked if this weekend’s Lecomte was in the game plan for Alexander Thegreat. “We may be biting off more than we can chew, but I discussed this with the owner and we’re going to take a shot in that race. We’ll blow him out tomorrow (Monday), but the colt is doing really well right now, so the plan is to lead him over there on Saturday to try and win this thing.”
LECOMTE PROBABLES PERMEATE SUNDAY’S WORK TAB – Prospective contestants for this Saturday’s Grade III Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds were prominent on Sunday’s work tab in
Going a half-mile in 50.80 Sunday was Zayat Stables’ Z Dager, while breezing five furlongs was Terry Hamilton’s Hammers Terror in 1:01.40 and David Randal’s Capetown Devil in 1:02.80.
All three are coming off winning efforts this winter at Fair Grounds in preparation for the Lecomte, first leg of the local series that culminates with the 99th running of the $1 million
FORTUS, WEST TO PREVIEW RACES AT SATURDAY SEMINAR – The Times-Picayune’s Bob Fortus, who will be inducted into the Fair Grounds Press Box Hall of Fame on Wednesday, and ESPN.com contributor Gary West will preview the Road to the Derby Kickoff Day card at a free handicapping seminar Saturday morning in the Phoenix Room on the third floor at 11:30 a.m.
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