Mineshaft the comeback spot for Louisiana Derby hero Catching Freedom

Highlight of the stakes restricted to older runners on Saturday's 14-race card at Fair Grounds is the $250,000 Mineshaft (G3), a 1 1/16-mile test that serves as the comeback spot for last year's Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Catching Freedom.

Preceding his Louisiana Derby victory with a win in the Smarty Jones S. and a third to Sierra Leone in the Risen Star (G2), Catching Freedom acquitted the form well enough in the first two classics, finishing fourth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and third in a paceless Preakness (G1). However, his season ended prematurely following a dull fourth in the Ohio Derby (G3) as the 2-5 favorite.

On top in that Thistledown fixture was Batten Down, who couldn't quite match strides with divisional heavyweights in either the Jim Dandy (G2) or Travers (G1). Although rebounding against a modest stakes field at Churchill Downs in September, Batten Down was dueled into submission as an odds-on choice in the Discovery S. at Aqueduct in early November.

Hall of Fame wasn't seasoned enough to make much noise in either the Risen Star or Louisiana Derby last winter, but enters this test off a pair of sharp allowance wins. The multiple stakes-placed Tuscan Sky has blown hot and cold through seven races, while Komorebino Omoide was most recently second to Hit Show in the Louisiana (G3).

The $175,000 Fair Grounds (G3), a nine-furlong grass test for older horses, could be the latest prize plundered by Gigante, who is already a seven-time stakes winner. The versatile five-year-old landed the Buddy Diliberto Memorial on turf and the Colonel E.R. Bradley S. on dirt earlier in the meet.

Idratherbeblessed, runner-up to Gigante in both of those races, is a returning rival. The Grade 3-placed Taking Candy, from Cherie DeVaux, and stakes newcomer Unit Economics, from Chad Brown, should take action, while What Say Thee has won four photo finishes in his last six outings for trainer Mike Maker.

The versatile Stir Crazy seeks her third stakes win of the Fair Grounds meet in the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial. The veteran seven-year-old won a stretch duel over Join the Dance in taking the Blushing K. D. S. over the grass in December, and last month walloped rivals in an off-the-turf renewal of the Marie Krantz Memorial.

Nanda Dea and Way to Be Marie were both defectors from the Krantz Memorial when it was washed off the turf, but appear viable contenders if the Stall Memorial remains on the grass. Returning from a lengthy absence in the 1 1/16-mile affair for fillies and mares is Lovely Princess, a prominent contender in the division during last year's Fair Grounds meet.

The $100,000 Colonel Power S., a 5 1/2-furlong dash on the turf for older horses, has drawn a competitive field. No Nay Hudson, Mischievous Rogue, and Mansa Musa arguably possess the most back class, while Kavod and Old Homestead would merit strong consideration in the event the race is transferred to the main track.