Hierro rallies for Derby Trial win

Stonestreet Stables LLC's Hierro rallied four wide in the stretch to run down

favored Paynter to win the 88th running of the Grade 3, $232,600

Derby

Trial by 1 1/2 lengths before a crowd of 26,527 on opening night of

Churchill Downs Friday.

Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Julien Leparoux, Hierro ran a mile on

the sloppy track in 1:35 1/5. It was the second Derby Trial win for Asmussen,

who saddled Valid Expectations to victory in 1996, and for Leparoux, who won the

2008 race on Macho Again.

"This is a horse whose last two races have been very eventful," Asmussen

said. "This evening with the weather earlier and then the delay in the paddock,

I loved how he acted. I thought he kept his composure. I thought Julien

(Leparoux) gave him a dream trip tonight and he ran extremely well against a

quality field."

The Derby Trial was delayed after a violent thunderstorm swept through the

Louisville area, drenching the track while powerful lightning flashed overhead.

"After the rain we watched the next couple of races and felt they went over

the track well and everyone was handling it good and that it was safe to run

on," Asmussen said of the decision to run.

The Black led the field of eight through fractions of :22 3/5 and :45 1/5

down the backstretch straightaway with Saint of Saints in closest pursuit and

Paynter in third. Midway on the far turn, Martin Garcia sent Paynter after The

Black and took command entering the stretch with Stealcase also moving toward

the front.

As the leading trio fanned across the track, Leparoux had Hierro in the clear

and moved to the lead at the eighth-pole to secure his second victory in six

starts. Both victories have come at Churchill Downs and under Leparoux.

Hierro earned $139,886 for the victory to increase his bankroll to $186,966

and his line now reads 6-2-1-0. The chestnut returned $12, $4.60 and $3.20 as

the 5-1 third pick.

"We were looking for this race from him," Asmussen said. "He had shown talent

all along. The horse has developed a lot physically and I think he beat a

quality field tonight. It's what we were hoping for and hopefully there are

bigger things to come.

"It's obviously been brought up several times in the last five minutes," he

added when asked about the Preakness Stakes. "We will evaluate how he comes out

of it, how he acts, but we're very pleased with this win tonight."

Paynter had his neck in front of Stealcase on the wire to take second, while

Bourbon Courage, The Black, Motor City, Quick Wit and Saint of Saints completed

the order of finish.

A three-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Hard Spun, Hierro is out of the Grade

3-placed Navarone mare Brief Bliss and is a half-brother to Grade 3-placed

multiple stakes winner Cherokee Triangle. He comes from the same female family

as 1959 champion handicap mare Tempted.