
Juddmonte’s homebred Disco Time found himself in unfamiliar territory near the back of the pack in Saturday’s $250,000 Lecomte (G3) at Fair Grounds, but the 1.90-1 favorite rallied in time to pass his first test on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Rolling late on the outside, the Brad Cox pupil collared Built in the shadow of the wire to extend his record to 3-for-3.
Disco Time had been on or very close to the pace in his two prior victories at Churchill Downs, a seven-furlong maiden on Nov. 1 and a one-mile allowance on the Nov. 30 “Stars of Tomorrow II” program. The son of Not This Time figured to use his tactical speed on the stretch-out to two turns here. But the combination of breaking from post 10, and other single-minded speed going for it, made jockey Florent Geroux call an audible to drop Disco Time off the pace, and the colt ended up 10th through the opening half-mile.
Built, the front-running winner of the Dec. 21 Gun Runner S. over the same track and 1 1/16-mile trip, also employed different tactics thanks to post 12. The 2.70-1 second choice was reserved in fourth early, but well within striking range. Even better, jockey Jareth Loveberry had managed to guide Built toward the inside.
Meanwhile, Innovator had sped forward on the rail in his two-turn debut, and the D. Wayne Lukas trainee appeared to be reveling in the slop for most of the way. Doling out fractions of :23.68, :47.91, and 1:13.38, the 16-1 shot was still 2 1/2 lengths clear in the stretch. Then Innovator began to tread water inside the final sixteenth.
While longtime stalker Golden Afternoon was churning on one-paced, Built began to pick up, and on the extreme outside, Disco Time was swooping with superior momentum. Just as Built overhauled Innovator, he was in turn nabbed by Disco Time, who got up by a neck.
The final time was a slow 1:47.07. Earlier on the card, fellow sophomore Hypnus made a sparkling debut in 1:46.33. Older horses Hit Show (1:44.91) and Gigante (1:45.66) were also faster in their respective stakes that immediately preceded the Lecomte, the Louisiana (G3) and the off-the-turf Col. E.R. Bradley.
Disco Time earned his first 20 points toward the Kentucky Derby (G1) and boosted his bankroll to $291,960.
Geroux explained the reasoning behind the trip that worked out in the end.
“That wasn’t the way we drew it up before the race, but he broke OK, and from there I saw lot of horses going at it, so I just tucked in. I was able to save a lot of going into the first turn, which was important given the tough post we had.
“From there he relaxed beautifully for me and took the kickback very well. I didn’t feel like I was behind. (I was) traveling great behind some slow horses who are going to back up at me. I just took my time and made sure I was going to time it right.
“When he was ready I just tipped him all the way outside and made a nice, long run down the lane. I’m very pleased with the horse. I feel like I gave some ground to the runner-up (Built) who had a little bit of a better trip than mine, but my horse was able to overcome it. He proved he was the best horse today.”
“I did think he would be a little bit closer,” Cox said, “but it looked like he was traveling well enough, and there was a two- or three-length gap between him and the horses in front of him, so I was hoping he would stay clean and on the outside. Florent did a good job of not pushing the button and overreacting, and the horse finished up well.”
Built added 10 points for his near-miss, doubling his total to 20. Loveberry gave the colt extra credit for his effort over a surface that he wasn’t totally feeling.
“We got a really good trip; he (Built) just didn’t quite handle the (off) track as well,” Loveberry reported. “He just kept fighting through the mud, fighting through the mud. To run a second like that, given the way he handled the track, he ran a good race, even in defeat.”
Innovator held third another half-length back, opening his Derby account with a deposit of six points. Jockey Jaime Torres believes that the son of 2020 Kentucky Derby champion Authentic wasn’t beaten for stamina, rather for a failure to contain his energy.
“If he can learn to relax more at the beginning, they won’t be able to get him,” Torres said. “I could have had a ton of horse at the end if he would have relaxed. I don’t think getting the distance is a problem at all. It was just his first time going two turns.
“The horse was taking me all of the way. I took him off the rail after the first turn and was able to get him to relax. But I heard someone coming on the inside, so I took him back to the rail and he grabbed the bit again. I started getting on him as a two-year-old, but he’s a different horse now, so strong. I jogged him two miles yesterday, and my arms are still burning.”
Golden Afternoon performed creditably for fourth (four points) in his dirt debut, just holding off Maximum Promise and Magnitude in a three-way photo. But his rookie trainer, Nick Vaccarezza, indicated that he’ll likely return to turf for his main targets.
Maximum Promise, by champion Maximum Security, reported home a sneaky fifth (two points) off a long layoff for Kenny McPeek. Magnitude, the distant runner-up in the Gun Runner, was just nipped for points in sixth. Next came Seattle Road, Calling Card, Jolly Samurai, Mobetterthangood, Dapper Moon, Optical, and Tough Catch. Admiral Dennis was scratched in favor of Monday’s seventh race.
Kentucky-bred Disco Time doesn’t hail from one of Juddmonte’s long-cultivated families. His dam, the multiple stakes-winning and Grade 2-placed Disco Chick, was an acquisition who was subsequently sold off for $35,000 at Keeneland November in 2022. The Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Jump Start was a hardy sprinter who won or placed in 18 stakes from 42 career starts.
The next leg of the Fair Grounds Road to the Derby, the Feb. 15 Risen Star (G2), is the logical port of call.
“The Risen Star in February at nine furlongs is the kind of race that can propel your forward,” Cox said.