Mike LaRosa LA Derby (Grade 2)- $1,000.000 Purse
FG- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and Three Sixteenths on the Dirt
March 23, 2024

Last week, the game made the admirable decision to honor Mike LaRosa, a man who should need no introduction to those reading the SRF. After all, if it were not for him, we wouldn’t have a SimRacing Form. FG was his home track, and now his legacy will live on with the LA Derby. There’s a lot on the line for this race: the $1,000.000 purse and being the first 100-point KYD prep of the season. But added to that will be the prestige of winning the first edition of this race that honors Mike. Our 2023 winner was a gelding named Terran Destiny, for Barcelona Farms. The win completed a three-race winning streak for him, that sent him into the KYD. Unfortunately, that seems to be where his career came to a grinding halt. After a midpack finish in the KYD and poor run in the BEL, Terran Destiny has never been near the front. He’s still active but doesn’t seem as though he will be an impactful horse again if he hits the track again. However, the LA Derby did see Gorogue Laga in it last year, who ran second here and then won the PRK. Also here was Apache Rise Again, the second-place runner in the KYD. Now, let’s look at the fourteen horses heading to the starting gate in 2024:

1- Freakie The Ghost (Mb Stables, ridden by L Saez)- Starting on the rail, Freakie The Ghost has struggled to get going over prep race season after he placed second in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes. While that was certainly a positive, he has not scared anyone in the two races that followed, with double digit finishes in both the Fountain Of Youth Stakes and the Holy Bull. When you are a member of this barn, that’s definitely not going to get it done and I would be a little surprised, even if he won this race, if Freakie The Ghost was selected by Mb for the KYD, unless of course, he is dominant here.

2- Master And Commander (Fractious, ridden by M Franco)- It’s been a great year for Fractious- owned three-year-olds, as the trainer has two of the top three on the leaderboard, but as of now he does not have a third horse heading there. So, for the moment, he’s not going to need to make the same tough decision that Mb annually does in picking three. However, I think that’s going to change and Fractious will have to make a choice somewhere. Master And Commander would be great in many other barns but may need to show a little more while in this one. Had a nice win in the Mucho Macho Man, but not much else to speak of. That would change with a win here.

3- Walk Em Down (Mb Stables, ridden by R L Moore)- In his last race, Walk Em Down made his graded debut here in the Risen Star, and got the win in just his third start. I picked him to win that race, despite being lightly raced due to being impressed by his breeding and a outstanding work that he had at SA three weeks before the race. Naturally, then, I’m not going to lose interest with him here in the Mike La Rosa LA Derby. He sits seventh on the KYD leaderboard and is in a good spot to add to that total, which I think he will. He is seeing tougher competition here, though, but that is good for him.

4- Key To The Forest (Alydar Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Most of his running has been in Florida to this point, which for a horse by Key West, seems to be only fitting. At GP, he ran in both the Affirmed and the In Reality, two nice stakes that are a part of the FL Sire Stakes series of races. Neither of them was a win, though, and the only one he was competitive in was the seven furlongs Affirmed. The good news is that he is coming out of a strong performance earlier this month where he was second to the highly touted Winned in the Battaglia Memorial Stakes. If he can build on that, he can run with these, but he must follow that up with similar.

5- Super Powers (Fractious, ridden by F Geroux)- Looking to establish himself as a KYD contender in this barn and makes his graded debut here. Overall, Super Powers has won twice in six starts, both in overnights, and that includes his last race: a N1X allowance here last month. Prior to that, he had run in a pair of ungraded races, including the Jerome at AQU, where he ran in the middle of the pack but seemed unresponsive in the stretch. Off of that, you can understand why Fractious dropped him back, so we’ll see now if the learned anything from that win.

6- Castel Trosino (First Flight Stable, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- As nice as it may be to see a long time SRF writer get a win in the Mike La Rosa LA Derby, I’m a little skeptical about Castel Trosino’s ability to get it done. This will be his fifth start, and he seemed to be on good form heading into this last race, which was the Grade 3 Swale Stakes. Unfortunately, that was an absolute stinker. Now, as we know, there can be reasons for that and perhaps First Flight Stable knows exactly why that happened, which is probable if the horse if being moved up into this. Still, I couldn’t put money on him. Not even a sentimental two dollar virtual ticket to win.

7- Very Profound (Mb Stables, ridden by J C Ferrer)- Just when you think you are getting to know who Mb’s top three-year-olds are, he throws out a new name at you that you have never seen before. Such is the case with Very Profound, a gelding by Sail Away that has only run twice. Both of those races resulted in victories, first breaking his maiden at HOU, and then having no problem with slop at GP in an allowance last month. Both were sprints, so not only is he moving up in class, he’s also stretching out here. In terms of his works, he’ll be fine with the distance.

8- Beaten Path (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Beschizza)- A veteran racer in comparison to others here with ten starts: only Freakie The Ghost has more. There are not many wins in that, as the only time that Beaten Path has won came at CD over KYD weekend last year to break his maiden. That has not been a good omen, as he has never really been able to gain much traction in the stakes races that he has been in since. But he also hasn’t been bad in them (until the Rebel), thus, he keeps getting his opportunities to finally break through and that shouldn’t stop. Eventually, that may become a beaten path for the trainer, but the horse is in a good barn if he needs a trainer who will keep giving him chances.

9- Hyakutake (Riggins Racing, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Riggins Racing has made a strong comeback, looking like the trainer he was in his heyday, and that game will be all the better for that. Despite that, the comeback needs one more thing: and that’s a runner in the KYD. At the moment, there are no Riggins horses with double digit point values on the TC qualifying leaderboard. While you wouldn’t rule out him buying a capable horse, it’s more enjoyable to race one in yourself. Hyakutake is a two-time runner that comes here off his maiden win at SA. Which was a sprint on the grass. Thankfully, his mile dirt works show he is ready to make this transition, so can he be the one that gets Riggins into the KYD?

10- Fun Runner (Asgar, ridden by P Lopez)- This is another horse that I have covered in the past, that has also impressed me. It was in the same race as Walk Em Down, the Grade 2 Risen Star right here, where Fun Runner changed up his tactics from being a closer to being a stalker. That led to him finishing second to Walk Em Down in that race, and he will get a great chance to turn the tables on him here. He’s otherwise been very strong, also winning the Lecomte in January and never seeming to have a bad race. With 47 points, he’ll be in the KYD if Asgar wants him there, but this is a good opportunity to make a statement for that race with a win.

11- Yankee (Smokey Stover, ridden by D Van Dyke)- As a Yankees fan, this is a horse that I should certainly be rooting for. He comes here out of Yankee Stadium (his dam, that is), but is more of an Anthony Volpe than an Aaron Judge at this point. In other words, he is showing his potential, but still hasn’t done anything particularly impressive. You simply hope that he will get there. In three starts, he has one win, where he broke his maiden in Marlins territory, leading off with breaking well out of the gate and staying there until the final out was recorded. The scouting report, based on works, suggests that he can be competitive against this company but don’t rule out a transition to turf if the TC trail run is not successful. Volpe handled the bigs, and now Yankee, wearing #11, will hope to handle the Mike La Rosa LA Derby.

12- Doc Rivers (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- In late October, Doc Rivers picked up the win in the $200.000 Sleepy Hollow for NY-Breds at AQU. At the time, it was his second win in four races, but ever since then he has taken up a liking for finishing fourth. That has been where he his run in three straight races, with two of them being here: the Lecomte and the Risen Star. This race features the top two finishers from the Risen Star, but he was three lengths behind Walk Em Down. That came on a muddy track, and with that not going to be the case here, that could make all the difference. We shall see.

13- Chicken Force (Delta Farms, ridden by A R Rodriguez)- Spent a lot of time running at fair level tracks as a two-year-old, and that may have slowed down his progression to becoming a contender on the KYD trail. When he beat three other poor souls by eight lengths at GRP in November, only then did we start to see Delta Farms move him forward. He’s run well in two ungraded stakes, including a win in the $100.000 El Camino last month. It’s good to see him get the chance here, as after all, he’s earned it.

14- Fayette County (Dmc Racing, ridden by Ar Bocachica)- After an incredible start to his career saw him begin four-for-four with wins in the Best Pal Stakes and the Hopeful, and then a second place run in the Champagne, it may seem a little unfair to transition into a “what have you done lately?” mindset. He didn’t get going in the BC Juvenile, beating only one rival while lingering at the back the whole race. After three months off, the rest did not help in the Risen Star, as he placed sixth. He had to deal with the same mud Doc Rivers did, so we should be as forgiving of him as we are Doc Rivers, but Fayette County truly needs a good showing here. Doesn’t have to be a win, but we need a reminder of how good he was as a two year old.

Prediction: 3-10-9-2

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES