A local veteran trainer whose opinion merits respect texted a screenshot of the past performance lines for a horse racing in the Louisiana Derby. “Don’t say I didn’t tell you,” read a follow-up text.
Didn’t need to be told. Said horse already had been selected as the lead to the March 22 Weekend GamePlan. Don’t say we didn’t tell you.
Louisiana Derby
Let’s not beat around the bush: Hypnus gets my money in the Louisiana Derby. His combination of ability, upside, and expected price makes him an appealing play.
I like this race and think there are plenty of talented entrants. All save Yinzer and Furio have shown something to make them at least mildly attractive.
On the right day during this Fair Grounds meet, the right horse can set a pace that historically would prove its undoing and never falter (See: Magnitude in the Risen Star). I can’t see John Hancock being ridden any other way, and if he shakes loose, who knows. With Flavien Prat riding for Brad Cox, the price is wrong to find out.
I mildly view Chunk of Gold’s second in the Risen Star as illusory. On the other hand, he did good things in his two starts at Turfway. The price here is right to take a shot.
Tiztastic probably isn’t fast enough, but expect a stronger showing at Fair Grounds than Oaklawn.
Caldera’s a real beast of a horse. His form lines point up, and workout video since he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at Sunland does nothing to contradict them.
Even after five starts, Built remains enigmatic. How far does he want to run? Can he still improve or was the Gun Runner, where he finished extremely fast, even considering a slow pace, his high-water mark? Ace horseman Wayne Catalano insists blinkers will improve Built.
Vassimo, first start with blinkers, probably isn’t ready to win at this level, but there’s more to him than meets a superficial glance. Closing into a fast pace made Instant Replay look better than he is last out – or did it?
Closing the circle: The Kenny McPeek-trained Hypnus is the horse for the Louisiana Derby. Front-running debut wins are one thing, as are deep-closing debut wins rolling into a taxing pace. Hypnus, in a route over a sloppy track, was neither of those. He raced with confidence, with professionalism, with purpose, and was going away at the wire. View his Rebel, where traffic bottled him up from the five-sixteenths to the final half-furlong, as a useful stepping-stone. Hypnus might get bet below his 8-1 morning line. He might still prove great value.
Jeff Ruby
McPeek trained Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby winners on successive days last spring. Could he win two Derby preps in 20 minutes on Saturday? Yes, he could!
Maximum Promise has been working with Hypnus at Fair Grounds. Hypnus stays home. Maximum Promise hits the road and already has shown he handles Turfway’s Tapeta surface.
Maximum Promise, after being held up in last after breaking from post 12 in his debut this past July, made a very nice run for fifth. From that deep-closing showing in a two-turn turf race, Maximum Promise went to a front-running blowout score in a 1 1/2-turn dirt race. Takes an unusual horse to do that.
A hind-end injury, McPeek said, led to Maximum Promise’s extended absence, and he turned in a subtly encouraging comeback performance in the Lecomte at Fair Grounds, where he closed along a deep, tiring rail. Maximum Promise just got rolling too late last out in the Battaglia, galloping out in front, and the added half-furlong in the Ruby will get him home.
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San Luis Rey
In November 2023, Wizard of Westwood had an 8-3-2-1 record that included a stakes win, high-level showings on turf and dirt, and a promising future as a strong-galloping, stamina-laden performer. Nothing has gone right since.
He failed to handle Turfway’s synthetic surface in his 4-year-old debut, flopped on dirt at Oaklawn, and didn’t race between March 2024 and February 2025.
His comeback looks like a pure prep, and it’s not too late for the Wizard to take a step forward from the horse he was before the problems began. While he’s shown multi-surface ability, this is a grass horse. And while video of his March 16 workout looked just okay, the March 8 drill really caught the eye.
Wizard of Westwood can sit in the pocket behind two serious speed horses. From there, we’ll see if he’s still got it.
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