Risen Star: Sierra Leone, Honor Marie among challengers to Track Phantom

Feb 11, 2024 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Honor Marie was last seen landing the Kentucky Jockey Club (Photo by Coady Photography)

Track Phantom has been the star of the Fair Grounds Road to the Kentucky Derby so far, but the waters are getting a lot deeper in Saturday’s $400,000 Risen Star (G2).

The first race offering 50 points to the winner, with a 25-15-10-5 points scale for the next four finishers, the Risen Star ushers in the major preps dubbed the Kentucky Derby Championship Series.

As a result, Track Phantom will meet several high-profile contenders for the first time, including the top two from the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), Honor Marie and Real Men Violin; Sierra Leone, who just missed in the Remsen (G2); and Smarty Jones S. winner Catching Freedom.

Add in shippers from the barns of Hall of Famers Todd Pletcher and Bill Mott, and Track Phantom’s own well-regarded stablemate Hall of Fame, and the Risen Star is shaping up to be a stiff test. So it should be, as the final local prep for the March 23 Louisiana Derby (G2).

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Track Phantom has won three in a row, all at 1 1/16 miles. The Quality Road colt’s main asset is his early speed that propelled him to victories in the first two points races at Fair Grounds, the Gun Runner S. and the Lecomte (G3). He’ll have to negotiate added ground in the 1 1/8-mile Risen Star, and after drawing post 11, Track Phantom will likely have to use more energy to get position with jockey Joel Rosario. If he holds off the classy closers here, Track Phantom would further his parallel with Asmussen’s 2022 champion, Epicenter.

Sierra Leone, the $2.3 million sales topper as a Saratoga yearling, invades for trainer Chad Brown. The Gun Runner colt delivered eye-catching performances in both of his starts at Aqueduct. Swooping from just off the pace to score handily on debut, he charged from last in the Remsen, and appeared poised to win, only to have Dornoch come again to edge him in a photo.

Brown has sent other Remsen near-missers to the Risen Star in the past. It didn’t pan out for Normandy Invasion (fifth in 2014) and Zandon (third in 2022), but Sierra Leone might prove to be different class. Moreover, Sierra Leone adds blinkers Saturday, implying that he could settle in a better spot for new rider Tyler Gaffalione.

Sierra Leone is owned by the Coolmore conglomerate in partnership, giving him largely overlapping ownership with rival Hall of Fame.

Himself a son of Gun Runner who brought $1.4 million at the same Saratoga yearling sale, Hall of Fame was a spectacular maiden winner on the Lecomte undercard. The Asmussen colt forced a fast pace before opening up by more than 10 lengths, and clocking a slightly faster time than stablemate Track Phantom in the Lecomte. The comparison is tantalizing, but Hall of Fame has to back it up at a higher level. Ricardo Santana Jr. picks up the mount, since Rosario stays on Track Phantom.

Honor Marie has displayed a late kick reminiscent of his sire, champion Honor Code. Despite a moderate pace in the Nov. 25 Kentucky Jockey Club that didn’t set up well for him, Honor Marie rattled home to beat Real Men Violin by two lengths at Churchill Downs. It’s another question whether that running style will be as effective at Fair Grounds, but the Whit Beckman trainee promises to finish well in this seasonal reappearance.

Real Men Violin likewise makes his first start since the Kentucky Jockey Club. The Ken McPeek pupil already boasts a win over Track Phantom, having beaten him in a Churchill Downs maiden Oct. 29. With his stalking style, Real Men Violin figures to work out a decent trip and get the jump on the closers.

Catching Freedom is trained by Brad Cox, who has won the Risen Star three of the past four years. The son of Constitution comes off a decisive win in the Smarty Jones, despite looking a tad green as he organized himself in the stretch. Cox used the same Smarty Jones path with last year’s Risen Star hero, Angel of Empire, who had been second at Oaklawn. While Catching Freedom could be ahead of him at this stage, this year’s Risen Star could also be tougher.

Pletcher’s two entrants are Moonlight, second in the Street Sense (G3) and most recently fourth in the Remsen, and Cardinale, who makes his stakes debut off a narrow allowance loss at Gulfstream Park. Cardinale gave Change of Command all he could handle that day before succumbing. Now the blinkers come off and Flavien Prat climbs aboard.

Mott’s contender, Resilience, just graduated at Gulfstream Park with John Velazquez in the saddle. The well-bred son of leading sire Into Mischief is eligible to keep progressing. Also exiting a maiden score is Bee Dancer, who pulled a 9-1 upset in his career debut here. That was a six-furlong dash, however, and the Charles Fipke homebred takes a substantial hike for Dallas Stewart.

Rounding out the field are class-challenged longshots Tizzy Indy, a distant fifth in the Lecomte, and Awesome Ruta, who is not Triple Crown-nominated.

Note that Moonlight is cross-entered to a 1 1/16-mile allowance that is itself likely to have implications for the Louisiana Derby. The third race (1:58 p.m. ET) has also attracted Nash and Ethan Energy, the respective second and fourth in the Lecomte, and Pletcher’s smart debut winner Tuscan Sky.

Also worth watching for Triple Crown nominees is the ninth race (4:52 p.m. ET), a 1 1/16-mile maiden featuring Antiquarian, a close second to well-regarded Conquest Warrior, and Godolphin blueblood Cornishman.

The Risen Star (slated for 7:17 p.m. ET) anchors the 14-race program, and you can watch and wager on Louisiana Derby Preview Day at TwinSpires.com.

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