CENTRAL/UNBEATEN HIGH LIMIT ROLLS FOR FRANKEL IN LOUISIANA DERBY - Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel does not have a Kentucky Derby trophy among his large collection of racing hardware, but the results of Saturday's Louisiana Derby (Grade II) indicate that the New York-born trainer will be bringing a strong candidate to Louisville in pursuit of this year's "Run for the Roses."

Mary and Gary West's High Limit, making his first start in four months and his debut for Frankel, led from the start at the Fair Grounds and cruised to an easy four-length victory over Vicarage. The son of Maria's Mon had won a pair of races last fall at Delaware Park for trainer Anthony Dutrow before he was transferred to Frankel.

"The first time you run a horse, you never know how they are going to run," said Frankel. "He seems to run for everybody. He's a good horse. Hopefully this race didn't take too much out of him."

Jockey Ramon Dominguez aboard High Limit, who narrowly missed the stakes record as he covered a mile and a sixteenth in 1:42.74. Dominguez has ridden the colt in all of his races.

"He finished very strong," said Dominguez. "I was not surprised by his performance. He seems to be a very good horse." High Limit left the starting gate as the 5-2 favorite for Frankel, who won the Louisiana Derby for the second time in three years. He previously won the race in 2003 with Peace Rules, who would go on to finish third to Funny Cide in the Kentucky Derby. Funny Cide had finished third to Peace Rules at the Fair Grounds.

Storm Surge finished third and Wallstreet Scandal was fourth. Completing the order of finish were Real Dandy, Risen Star (GIII) winner Scipion, Kansas City Boy, Sort It Out and Indy Storm.

The victory by High Limit was the highlight of the biggest day in the long history of the Fair Grounds. Wagering on the Louisiana Derby Day card, which included four stakes races, totaled $11,310,990. Betting on the Louisiana Derby itself set a Fair Grounds single-race record of $2,972,213. On-track wagering on the 11-race card was a record $866,466. Rockport Harbor's Foot Ailing Again - The status of Fox Hill Farm's unbeaten Rockport Harbor for a scheduled start in Saturday's $250,000 Rebel (GIII) at Oaklawn Park is reported to be "day to day" because of a recurrence of a nagging foot injury.

Trainer John Servis said the son Unbridled's Song was favoring his right hind foot on Saturday morning. The foot was originally injured in a victory in the Remsen (GII) at Aqueduct last fall. Servis said that Rockport Harbor could have aggravated the injury in a Friday workout, but he was encouraged after he checked the foot on Sunday morning.

"I'm not sure we've dodged this bullet, but we're weaving," said Servis. "The Rebel is a go...absolutely. The only thing is that instead of being 75 to 80 per cent for the Rebel, Rocky will be maybe 65 to 70 per cent."

EAST/BELLAMY ROAD SIZZLES IN RETURN - Add another name to the growing roster of Kentucky Derby contenders in the barn of two-time Derby-winning trainer Nick Zito.

The latest Zito-trained star is Bellamy Road, who scored a dazzling 15 ¾-length victory on Saturday in his debut for Zito in a one-mile allowance race at Gulfstream Park. The son of Concerto, who is owned by the Kinsman Stable of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and formerly trained by Michael Dickinson, made his first start since October.

Javier Castellano rode the winner, who covered a mile in 1:35.90 in a performance that was so dominating that it prompted Zito to consider a Kentucky Derby bid for the colt. Zito expressed concern that Bellamy Road could likely squeeze in only one more prep race, but he mentioned the Wood Memorial (GI) at Aqueduct on April as a possible race for the colt.

"We expected him to run big, but not like this," said Zito. "It will be hard with just two preps, but things happen in life. Stranger things have happened. I was asking someone before the race, 'Can a horse win the Wood Memorial off a race like this?' We'll see. That might be the right spot for him no matter what. We'll see."

Zito's other Derby hopefuls are Sun King, High Fly, Andromeda's Hero and Noble Causeway.

WEST/UNCLE DENNY ZIPS IN EL CAMINO REAL - Stan Fulton's Uncle Denny, a California-bred who is not yet nominated to the Kentucky Derby and Visa Triple Crown, rallied from just off the pace to score a 2 ¼-length victory over Wannawinemall in the $200,000 El Camino Real Derby (Grade III). Golden Gate Derby winner Buzzards Bay was third.

Jockey Russell Baze was aboard the winner, who covered a mile and a sixteenth in 1:42.22 over a "fast" track to win Northern California's top Kentucky Derby prep. The Rafael Becerra-trained son of In Excess won for the fourth time in five races. Uncle Denny was unbeaten in three races in a 2-year-old campaign capped by a victory in the California Breeders' Champion Stakes. He was fourth to Going Wild in Santa Anita's Sham in his previous outing.

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