1. Catching Freedom
There was much to like about Catching Freedom’s last-to-first, one-length win in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots March 23.
He finished quite well for a 1 3/16-mile race, covering the final three-sixteenths of a mile in roughly :18.28 and seven-sixteenths of a mile in :42.49. To simplify, that means he was running fast late in a race that is just a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Kentucky Derby (G1)…a very good sign. So, too, is the fact that he switched leads a little bit before the eighth pole, which helped him accelerate. It might sound like a small thing, but he showed some greenness in the stretch in previous races when it comes to switching from his left lead on the turn to his right lead in the stretch. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was much better.
To punch his ticket to Louisville, Ky., Catching Freedom was last of 11 after three-quarters of a mile, rallied willingly when asked by Flavien Prat, and overhauled 10 opponents despite a fairly tepid early pace. The Constitution colt earned a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure and 98 Equibase Speed Figure. With a convincing win at 1 3/16 miles and six weeks of rest before the Kentucky Derby, Catching Freedom has a huge chance to run the best race of his life in his fourth start of the year for trainer Brad Cox and owner Albaugh Family Stables.
Cox won the Kentucky Derby in 2021 with Mandaloun following the disqualification of Medina Spirit and ran third with Angel of Empire a year ago, so he knows how to have a top 3-year-old ready to fire on the first Saturday in May. As with any deep closer, navigating a clear path to the finish line in a field of up to 20 could be a challenge, but I feel very confident Catching Freedom will be flying late May 4 at Churchill.
2. Honor Marie
Honor Marie was my pick to win the Louisiana Derby, and he finished with a powerful late rally but just could not quite match strides with Catching Freedom. On the bright side, both horses finished well and Honor Marie has slightly more tactical speed than Catching Freedom, so on Kentucky Derby day he might have less traffic to weave through from the final turn to the finish line.
I like the path trainer Whit Beckman has mapped out for Honor Marie. Beckman is a former assistant to Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown, and Honor Marie’s schedule seems to follow the Chad Brown-Bobby Frankel road map of plenty of spacing between races leading up to a top effort in the third start off the layoff. The Honor Code colt was given 12 weeks off after winning the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) and returned in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) Feb. 17, finishing fifth on a sloppy track in his 3-year-old bow. He was much better five weeks later on a fast track in the Louisiana Derby when second by a length while earning a new top 96 Beyer Speed Figure and a 97 Equibase Speed Figure that was just a tick off his career best. Honor Marie will have six weeks of rest leading into his third race of the year; like Catching Freedom, he is well positioned to run the best race of his career.
The Louisiana Derby runner-up finish also supports my belief that he’s bred to excel at 1 1/4 miles—by 2015 champion older dirt male Honor Code out of grade 2-placed Dame Marie, a winner at 1 1/8 miles—so I think Honor Marie enters the Derby with a chance to run the best race of his career for the partnership of Ribble Farms, Michael Eiserman, Earl Silver, Kenneth Fishbein, and Dave Fishbein.
3. Domestic Product
The third slot here was a tough call for me between Louisiana Derby third-place finisher Tuscan Gold and Tampa Bay Derby (G3) victor Domestic Product. Ultimately, I sided with the latter because he’s better positioned to compete in the Kentucky Derby with 60 qualifying points (compared with 25 for Tuscan Gold).
The Practical Joke colt has thrived since stretching out in distance in his second career start with two wins and one second in four races, and the only poor effort, an unplaced finish in the Remsen Stakes (G2) last December, came with a built-in excuse of a muddy track. In two races as a 3-year-old, Domestic Product finished second to Hades in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) before using a powerful closing bid to win the Tampa Bay Derby by a neck from Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) winner No More Time. The pace in the Tampa Bay Derby was remarkably slow, which played a role in the poor speed figure Domestic Product earned, but he finished well in that race with a quick final sixteenth of a mile in less than six seconds and a final five-sixteenths of a mile in approximately :28.93.
Domestic Product’s winning Equibase Speed Figure (82) and Beyer Speed Figure (82) were simply not very good, and he has yet to run a really fast race, which tempers my enthusiasm for this Chad Brown-trained colt a bit, as does his pedigree. But he has excelled in his route races and has one more chance to run a fast race before the Kentucky Derby, so I’m choosing to take an optimistic view of the Klaravich Stables homebred. He’s a talented colt with some upside and a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate secured.
