Disco Time began his winning dance around the far turn and rallied down the stretch to edge Built by a neck in the $250,000 Lecomte Stakes (G3) on a rainy Saturday at Fair Grounds.
The Lecomte is a Kentucky Derby (G1) points qualifier, with Disco Time picking up 20 points in improving his record to 3-0.
Disco Time (left). Coady Photo.
The Juddmonte homebred trained by Brad Cox, who was forwardly placed in his two previous wins, was eighth after three-quarters of a mile, but his steady run to the front under Florent Geroux produced an exciting finish.
The 9-5 favorite in the field of 13 3-year-olds, Disco Time ($5.80) is likely to move forward on the road to the Derby, with a next start possibly the Risen Star (G2) at the Fair Grounds on Feb. 15.
“He broke OK, and from there I saw a lot of horses going at it, so I just tucked in right away,’’ Geroux said. “I was able to save a lot of ground on the first tune, which was very important. He relaxed beautifully for me, took the kickback very well. I just [bided] my time to make sure I was going to time it right.’’
The track was sloppy and sealed making it rough going for a big field.
Innovator was third for six Derby points, followed by Golden Afternoon (four points), Maximum Promise (two points), Magnitude, Seattle Road, Calling Card, Jolly Samurai, Mobetterthangood, Dapper Moon, Optical, and Tough Catch. Admiral Dennis was scratched.
Winning time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:47.07.
“Look, I love speed, and obviously if they’re fast enough to get there and then keep going, they can separate themselves,’’ Cox said. “But you know, for this horse at this point in his career, I thought it was a great steppingstone forward.”