Doomed by stumbling at the start when ninth in the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar, East Avenue returns to action Feb. 15 in the $500,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
He faces a dozen other 3-year-olds, including contenders such as Vassimo and Built.
Another prominent entry, Jonathan's Way, will scratch, trainer Phil Bauer told to track publicity, due to an unsatisfactory blood count.
The Risen Star, a 1 1/8-mile dirt race, should provide some clues about where East Avenue and the other competitors stand in the 3-year-old pecking order ahead of the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs.
The Risen Star is the first 105-point qualifying race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby this year, distributing points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale to its top five finishers. Churchill Downs uses qualifying points as a preference system when the Derby overfills beyond its capacity 20-horse field size.
Last year's Risen Star winner, Sierra Leone, would go on to finish second in the Kentucky Derby during a championship 3-year-old season that culminated with him winning the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
Already with 10 qualifying points by virtue of his front-running, 5 1/4-length win in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) last fall at Keeneland, which followed a similarly easy maiden win at Ellis Park, East Avenue would be assured of a starting position in the Kentucky Derby with a victory based on historical trends. A runner-up finish might also result in him having enough points to gain entry—with the opportunity to earn still more in a final prep preceding the Derby, when points are at their highest levels.
Readying him for Risen Star, trainer Brendan Walsh has worked East Avenue behind horses in some of his drills and in a solo gate breeze designed for starting gate readiness.
Reflecting on watching the stumble at the break in the Breeders' Cup, Walsh told FanDuel Racing, "I knew we were in trouble then. It just wasn't going to work from there."
Tyler Gaffalione is aboard Godolphin's homebred son of Medaglia d'Oro .
Gaffalione believes breaking from the inside post in the Breeders' Cup contributed to the poor beginning.
"Having to be the first one to load, standing in there so long, I definitely think that was the main problem that day," he told FanDuel Racing.
With Jonathan's Way out of the Risen Star, East Avenue is currently slotted to break from post 3 Saturday.
Disco Time, the winner of Jan. 18 Lecomte Stakes (G3), the prior Road to the Kentucky Derby prep at Fair Grounds, has not breezed since the race and is absent from the Risen Star, but the Lecomte runner-up, Built, does return. Outkicked down the stretch after stalking the leaders in the Lecomte, he finished a neck behind at the finish.
Luis Saez replaces Jareth Loveberry in the saddle aboard the Hard Spun colt, a wire-to-wire winner of the ungraded Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds in December.
Team Penney Racing's Vassimo crossed the wire first in two starts in Florida for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. The Nyquist colt races in a stakes race for the first time and will have jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. up.
Vassimo is at risk of eventual disqualification from his debut for an equine medication positive for betamethasone in a case that has not been fully adjudicated.
The Risen Star is the last of 14 races on the card and has a scheduled post time of 6:30 p.m. CT.
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, February 15, 2025, Race 14Entries: Fasig-Tipton Risen Star S. (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1American Promise (KY) Keith J. Asmussen 122 D. Wayne Lukas 12/1 2 2Jonathan's Way (OH) Jose L. Ortiz 122 Philip A. Bauer 4/1 3 3Vassimo (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 122 Todd A. Pletcher 8/1 4 4East Avenue (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 122 Brendan P. Walsh 9/5 5 5Chunk of Gold (KY) Abel Cedillo 122 Ethan W. West 30/1 6 6Seattle Road (KY) Marcelino Pedroza, Jr. 122 Thomas M. Amoss 30/1 7 7Septarian (KY) Flavien Prat 122 Chad C. Brown 12/1 8 8Giocoso (KY) Jaime A. Torres 122 J. Keith Desormeaux 20/1 9 9Built (KY) Luis Saez 122 Wayne M. Catalano 5/1 10 10Render Judgment (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 122 Kenneth G. McPeek 12/1 11 11Jolly Samurai (TX) Rene Diaz 122 Danny Pish 30/1 12 12Vamos Carlitos (KY) Florent Geroux 122 Gregory D. Foley 30/1 13 13Magnitude (KY) Ben Curtis 122 Steven M. Asmussen 12/1
