Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Pickett eyes stakes breakout
Louisiana-based trainer Glenn Delahoussaye got a firsthand look at Goldencents back in 2012, when the horse shipped into the state and won the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot. Fast forward six years, and Delahoussaye has the first winner for the now-stallion Goldencents in Pickett.
Pickett, who won his debut in May, could become his sire’s first stakes winner Saturday night at Evangeline Downs. He will start as a top contender in the $75,000 colts and geldings division of the D.S. “Shine” Young Futurity. The 5 1/2-furlong race for 2-yearolds bred in Louisiana shares a card with a “Shine” Young division for fillies, also worth $75,000.
Goldencents won the Jackpot at 2 and later in his career took back-to-back runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. His first crop of horses hit the track this year, and he’s already had six winners through Wednesday.
“I saw him run at Delta and then I followed his career after that,” Delahoussaye said. “I loved Goldencents as a racehorse. He could go short, long, one turn, two turns. I really thought he couldn’t miss as a stallion.”
Delahoussaye purchased Pickett as a yearling for $50,000 on behalf of owner Charlie Carlton during the Equine Sales Co. of Louisiana auction. The horse debuted May 30 at Evangeline, in a maiden special weight for Louisiana-breds. Pickett showed excellent speed from the start and won in hand, by a margin of 6 1/2 lengths.
“I expected him to run that well because he was giving me all the right signals in his workouts,” Delahoussaye said. “The first time I worked him – I always go an eighth of a mile with them early on – his first eighth of a mile was phenomenal. I was like, ‘Okay. We might have got lucky here.’ ’’
Delahoussaye said aside from Pickett’s sire, there are other reasons he believes the 2-year-old has a license to be a good horse. He noted Pickett’s dam, Street Beat, produced both Hisse, a four-time stakes winner who earned $435,681, and Ahead of Her Time, a sixtime stakes winner who earned $340,100.
“That’s a blue hen mare in a regional market,” Delahoussaye said.
Pickett on Saturday will break from post 4 under Evangeline leading rider Tim Thornton.
Others making up the field include Victory Trip, a 7 3/4-length debut winner June 13 at Evangeline, and Holy Sunrise, who rolled by eight lengths in his first start June 23 at Evangeline. Beto invades from Belmont Park, where he debuted June 17. He ran seventh in a maiden special weight on turf that went in a quick 1:08.80.
In the fillies division of the “Shine” Young, much of the focus will be on Atchata, who won a maiden special weight on June 15 at Belmont. The start came over six furlongs on turf ,and she won by 1 1/2 lengths in a sharp 1:08.60.
Atchata is making her dirt debut. Her sire, Apriority, was a Grade 3 winner on dirt, while her half-sister, Actif Storm, is a past winner of the “Shine” Young. Atchata will be first Lasix and will break from post 4. Diego Saenz has the mount for Bill and Corrine Heiligbrodt and trainer Steve Asmussen.
Sprint at Albuquerque
Oh So Regal and Pain and Misery recorded the biggest wins of their careers over a route of ground, but both figure prominently sprinting Saturday night in the $55,000 Budweiser Special Handicap at the Downs at Albuquerque.
The Budweiser Special, at 6 1/2 furlongs, is for 3-yearolds and up. Mt Veeder is the 123-pound highweight as the winner of three of his last four starts, including a stakes over Quarter Horses in an 870-yard dash May 4 at SunRay Park.
Oh So Regal is weighted next at 122 pounds. He reached a career pinnacle in April, when he darted to a four-length win in the $150,000 Sunland Park Handicap. He last raced June 29, and on the cutback from two turns to one finished third by a neck in an allowance prep for the Budweiser.
Pain and Misery, at 120 pounds, will be cutting back from three turns after winning the $75,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner in his last start April 28 at Fonner Park. Earlier in his career, Pain and Misery was a stakes winner at one turn, taking the Governor’s Cup as a 2-year-old at Zia Park. He brings $499,432 in career earnings into the Budweiser.