—Mar 24— Trainer Brad Cox’s five-year-old son of Candy Ride, Leofric, who has claimed back-to-back wins in the Razorback and Essex Handicaps at Oaklawn Park, is expected to be favored in the $376,000 New Orleans Handicap at the Fair Grounds on Saturday. Since beginning the year with an off-the-board finish in an $80,000 allowance race, Leofric has dominated the older horse division at Oaklawn. According to his trainer, he won’t be easy to beat on Satuday. Accoring to Cox, Leorific is “as tough a horse as I’ve ever been around. If you pointed him to a brick wall and asked him to run through it, he’d knock it down.”
Cox’s assessment won’t prevent others from trying. The horse with the best shot is probably William Mott’s lightly-raced, Good Samaritan, who enters the race after a second place finish to Altissimo in the Grade III Mineshaft Handicap here on February 17. Joel Rosario, who’s suffering through a dreadful season that has seen him win just once in 27 mounts (3.7%), will again have the mound on the Kentucky-bred son of Harlan’s Holiday.
Untrapped, who beat Leofric in his debut and has since lost to that rival in both the Razorback and Essex, could also be a factor.
Retro Horse Racing Game 