D. Wayne Lukas has over 4,770 career training wins, four Eclipse Awards for outstanding trainer and was voted into the thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame in 1999. On Saturday, he’ll send out Horse Fly, a 30-1 morning line reject, that I think has a shot to give the man affectionately nicknamed “Coach” his third victory in the Risen Star Stakes (GII).
On paper, Horse Fly is too slow to win the Fair Grounds feature, but I love his pace figures and think the son of local hero Mineshaft could outrun his odds.
Of course, the horse to beat is Mo Town, who was last seen annexing the Remsen (GII) at Aqueduct and is now 2-for-3 in his young career. While the Anthony Dutrow trainee is a deserving favorite, it should be noted that the No Dozing, runner-up in the Remsen, came back to finish a dull sixth in the Sam F. Davis (behind McCracken and others) in his seasonal debut.
Other top contenders include Girvin, Guest Suite, U S Officer, Takeoff and So Conflated.
