Flurry Racing Stables' Mr. Misunderstood kicks off his 4-year-old season in the $150,000 Fair Grounds Handicap (G3T), and aims to keep his win streak alive when he steps onto the turf at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
The Archarcharch gelding—who is slated as the morning-line favorite in the expected field of 12 set to go about 1 1/8 miles—is eight-for-eight on the grass and comes into the Feb. 17 test riding a five-race win streak that dates back to last August.
While he will face older horses for the first time in Saturday's test, Mr. Misunderstood has won all four of his starts at the New Orleans track (three on turf, one on dirt), including a 1 3/4-length score in the one-mile Woodchopper Stakes in December. Since that race, he's worked four times on the Fair Grounds dirt, including a half-mile move Jan. 27 in :48 4/5 and a five-furlong move Feb. 3 in 1:00 3/5.
"(Mr. Misunderstood) is training really well," trainer Brad Cox said. "His last two works have been fantastic and he had a great work (Saturday) morning (four furlongs in :51 1/5). He couldn't be doing any better.
"He's definitely stepping up a little bit. He hasn't faced the talent or the depth that he's going to face on Saturday. The first time against older horses tend to be deeper water, and this will be the deepest water that he's been in. He looks amazing, he's happy, and he's doing great mentally and physically."
The 2017 Commonwealth Turf Stakes (G3T) winner will face experienced runners in graded stakes winners Thatcher Street, Granny's Kitten, and Tiz a Slam, who each are looking to rebound from recent off-the-board efforts.
Michael Hui's Galton enters off two solid runner-up efforts. The Mike Maker-trained 7-year-old son of Offlee Wild finished second, 1 1/2 lengths behind Tower of Texas in his 2018 debut, the Jan. 13 Colonel E. R. Bradley Handicap at Fair Grounds. One start prior, he finished second by three-quarters of a length in the one-mile Tropical Turf Stakes in December at Gulfstream Park.
Pin Oak Stable's Synchrony also comes in off back-to-back runner-up efforts, but hasn't raced since last May. The son of Tapit is graded placed on both turf and dirt, and he's been posting regular works at Fair Grounds. In his last three moves he's earned two bullets, one Jan. 27 going five furlongs in :59 3/5 and another Feb. 3 clocking six furlongs in 1:12 2/5 for trainer Michael Stidham.
Looming a threat is GenStar Thoroughbreds's recent Fair Grounds optional-claiming allowance winner High Noon Rider. Also trained by Cox, the stakes-winning son of Distorted Humor rallied from seventh to take a Feb. 1 1 1/16-mile turf test by a neck over fellow Fair Grounds Handicap entrants Applicator and One Mean Man.
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, February 17, 2018, Race 8Entries: Fair Grounds H. (G3T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Thatcher Street (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 116 Ian R. Wilkes 12/1 2 2Zulu Alpha (KY) Miguel Mena 114 Neil J. Howard 20/1 3 3Galton (KY) Javier Castellano 117 Michael J. Maker 5/1 4 4One Mean Man (KY) Robby Albarado 117 Bernard S. Flint 12/1 5 5Granny's Kitten (PA) Julien R. Leparoux 116 Michael J. Maker 8/1 6 6Mr. Misunderstood (KY) Florent Geroux 119 Brad H. Cox 3/1 7 7Applicator (KY) Jack Gilligan 117 Mikhail Yanakov 12/1 8 8Synchrony (KY) Joe Bravo 115 Michael Stidham 9/2 9 9High Noon Rider (KY) Shaun Bridgmohan 117 Brad H. Cox 6/1 10 10Tiz a Slam (ON) Corey J. Lanerie 115 Roger L. Attfield 20/1 11 11Great Wide Open (IRE) Adam Beschizza 116 Conor Murphy 20/1 12 12Catcho En Die (ARG) John R. Velazquez 117 William I. Mott 8/1
