Expert Pick of the Week: 2024 Louisiana Derby

Mar 20, 2024 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

An excellent field of 12 three-year-olds will travel 1 3/16 miles on the Fair Grounds dirt in Saturday’s $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2). The vital 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby challenge series tilt will reward the top five finishers with a total of 200 qualifying points (100-50-25-15-10) towards the Run for the Roses on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

I’ve been a big fan of the Brad Cox-trained Catching Freedom since he delivered on debut under the Twin Spires on October 1, and I expect the son of Constitution to produce a lifetime-best performance on the move to 1 3/16 miles on Saturday. The Albaugh Family Stables’ color bearer concluded his two-race juvenile campaign with an allowance fourth when enduring traffic in the stretch, and he commenced 2024 in style with a romp in the Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn Park on New Year’s Day.

Catching Freedom put in what I thought was a very good prep for the Louisiana Derby when a solid third in the Risen Star S. (G2) on the surface in the deepest prep race of the season currently, and the $575,000 purchase could peak while making his third run off the layoff, too. The bay colt comes in with a trio of solid morning moves on the strip as of late, and I’m a big fan of the move to pick up top pilot Flavien Prat for the feature. I expect the top pick to endure a ground-saving trip while laying a bit closer to the early tempo.

Sierra Leone gained 50 points on the Road to @KentuckyDerby 150 on Saturday with a win in the Risen Star @fairgroundsnola!

Click the link below to add him to your TwinSpires Stable Alerts and get notified the next time he runs!#NeverMissAWinner ⤵️ https://t.co/x6tPCmCI9T pic.twitter.com/8GWeBPW1rM

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) February 20, 2024

Steve Asmussen’s Track Phantom is the one to likely catch and beat despite drawing widest of all with Joel Rosario in the controls. The consistently very good son of Quality Road aced both the Gun Runner S. and Lecomte S. (G3) at the meeting, which preceded a strong runner-up performance in the aforementioned Risen Star after leading for most of the contest.

The Kentucky-bred colt will be as fit as any contender in the field with six route races to his credit in advance of Saturday, and he figures to thrive with the added ground with which to work with, as well.

Expert Pick

An exacta with #5 Catching Freedom on top of #12 Track Phantom in the 2024 Louisiana Derby is the Best Bet of the Week.