Instilled Regard invading from California for Lecomte

Most years the Lecomte Stakes is a relatively quiet point of departure toward the Risen Star Stakes in February and the Louisiana Derby at the end of the Fair Grounds meeting. Not this year. The first 3-year-old dirt-route stakes of the Fair Grounds season, the Lecomte already appeared to be coming up with a good field, and now comes news that Instilled Regard will ship from California next week to start in the race, part of the Jan. 13 Road to the Derby Kickoff card at Fair Grounds.

Instilled Regard made a name for himself months before his first race when Lawrence Best’s OXO Equine paid $1,050,000 for the colt at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March breeze-up sale. Sent to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, Instilled Regard debuted in September and ran two solid sprint races before graduating third time out when trying two turns for the first time. More recently, he crossed the wire third, beaten less than one length, on Dec. 9 in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity. Caught between horses, Instilled Regard was bumped in the homestretch by victorious Solomini, who was disqualified because of the incident and placed behind Instilled Regard, who was elevated to second, and McKinzie, who became the winner.

Instilled Regard, by Arch out of Enhancing, by Forestry, already has worked back three times since that start, including a five-furlong drill Dec. 30 that Hollendorfer said was “a very good work.” Instilled Regard will breeze once more at Santa Anita before flying Jan. 10 to New Orleans, Hollendorfer said. Javier Castellano will ride him in the Lecomte.

“We just thought [the Lecomte] would be a good path to try and take with this horse,” Hollendorfer said.

“That’s an interesting racetrack with its long stretch, and we think our horse would like that.”

Hollendorfer said the older horse Seattle Serenade could ship with Instilled Regard and start in the Louisiana Stakes on the Lecomte undercard.

Instilled Regard will probably have to face three from the Steve Asmussen barn in the Lecomte.

While Reride, the sixth-place finisher in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, won’t be running, Asmussen still has plenty of firepower for the race in Principe Guilherme, Snapper Sinclair, and Zing Zang.

Snapper Sinclair was a turf stakes winner last year at 2, most recently running below his best form when 12th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Snapper Sinclair, a City Zip colt who has posted four recent Fair Grounds works, will race on dirt for the first time since his career debut July 8 produced a sixth-place finish in a Belmont sprint maiden.

Zing Zang, a Tapit colt, took a big third-start step forward, winning a two-turn Fair Grounds dirt maiden race Dec. 16 by more than two lengths after rallying from 11th.

Principe Guilherme clearly has shown the most talent among the Asmussen trio, winning his debut, a sevenfurlong maiden race Nov. 10 at Churchill, by more than six lengths, and then stretching to two turns to capture a first-level Fair Grounds allowance race Dec. 16 by almost 12 lengths. Despite coming through the stretch with little serious encouragement from jockey Florent Geroux, Principe Guilherme, a Three Chimneys Farm homebred by Tapit, got a 91 Beyer Speed Figure.

Entries for the Jan. 13 card will be taken Friday.

C Z Rocket taking a break

C Z Rocket took the first loss of his career, finishing a fading sixth in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, but the colt at least came out of the race without injury, trainer Al Stall said.

“He’s back here at Fair Grounds,” Stall said. “He’s okay. I don’t know what happened. He just came up a little empty.”

C Z Rocket won his first three starts, including his Saratoga debut, by open lengths and was a well-backed 5-2 shot in the Malibu. He raced wide and close to the pace but had no spark in the homestretch.

“There’s no plan right now,” Stall said. “We’re not stopping on him per se. He’s going to get a little bit of a breather.”

Stall also reported nothing amiss with the talented Louisiana-bred 3-year-old filly Minit to Stardom, who was scratched last weekend from the fillies division of the Louisiana Futurity.

“She’s fine. Just didn’t like the one hole,” said Stall, who will point Minit to Stardom to Louisiana Premier Night at Delta Downs.

Closer to home, Stall said that Yockey’s Warrior is progressing nicely toward his start Jan. 13 in the Duncan Kenner Stakes. Yockey’s Warrior, who worked a half-mile in 49 seconds Dec. 30, won the Thanksgiving Handicap by five lengths in his most recent start.