Racing Roundtable: Risen Star weekend recap with guest John Dooley [VIDEO]

This week, the Racing Roundtable is joined by special guest John G. Dooley, track announcer at the Fair Grounds, to talk Risen Star (G2) weekend in New Orleans, where Magnitude and Good Cheer earned top points along the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Oaks (G1).

RELATED: Risen Star LIVE blog: Picks, odds, & more at Fair Grounds

What were your takeaways from the Risen Star (G2)?

James Scully: Magnitude delivered a tour-de-force performance in the Risen Star (G2), drawing off spectacularly in the stretch to a 9 3/4-length victory, and the 105 Brisnet Speed rating he registered put him squarely in the Kentucky Derby picture until the unfortunate news of an ankle chip was revealed. Kudos to Ben Curtis, who picked up the mount, for a heady ride aboard the Steve Asmussen trainee; Curtis hustled the Not This Time colt to the lead from the starting gate, kept him clear along the backside and caught a breather entering the far turn, allowing Magnitude to finish up powerfully.

Let’s hope Magnitude comes back strong from the ankle chip later this year.

Built, the 3-1 second following a win in the Gun Runner S. and a runner-up in the Lecomte (G3), offered a good run to nearly draw even with Magnitude while straightening for home, but he had little left for the stretch drive, losing second in the final jumps. It’s fair to question the Hard Spun colt’s threshold for longer distances.

I’ve never seen 43-1 shots finish 1-2 in any race, but Chunk of Gold capped a lucrative exacta ($1,314 for $1) when getting up to edge Built by a head for second. Chunk of Gold was the only runner to make up significant ground from off the pace, rallying from midpack on the far turn, and he was making only his third start and first on a dirt track.

From the second crop of Preservationist and out of a mare by Cairo Prince, whose first foals hit the track in 2016, Chunk of Gold debuted with a six-furlong maiden win in mid-December at Turfway and was exiting a non-threatening second to Baby Max in the one-mile Leonatus S. on Jan. 18 over the Tapeta track. His pedigree is geared toward longer distances; his full-sister, 2024 Martha Washington winner Band of Gold, never raced in a sprint from nine lifetime starts, and their dam is a half-sister to Southwest (G3) and Lexington (G3) winner My Boy Jack, who finished fifth in the 2018 Kentucky Derby.

Ashley Anderson: Magnitude's gate-to-wire, 9 3/4-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile test was by far the biggest shocker on the Risen Star card, as the son of Not This Time went off at odds of 43-1 following his sixth in the Lecomte (G3) at the same track back in January. The Steve Asmussen trainee crossed the wire in 1:48.85 and recorded a 105 Brisnet Speed figure, improving upon his 85 in the Lecomte, and earned triple-digit E1 and E2 figures while setting a hot pace in the Derby prep. Unfortunately, we will have to wait a while to see Magnitude's return, as it was reported Monday that he had been diagnosed with a bone chip in his left ankle and will require surgery, eliminating him from contention for the Kentucky Derby.

Breeders' Futurity (G1) winner East Avenue finished in a dead heat for 10th with Seattle Road as the 4-5 favorite and left much to be desired in his three-year-old debut. The Risen Star marked his first start since a troubled ninth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), and the Godolphin homebred broke sharply before stalking comfortably outside of Magnitude, but lacked a response into the far turn and faltered between horses nearing the lane.

Is Good Cheer the best filly in Brad Cox's barn?

JS: Good Cheer made a compelling argument in the Rachel Alexandra (G2), drawing away to a 6 1/2-length decision. Her stablemate Muhimma will have the opportunity to counter when she makes her three-year-old bow in Sunday’s Honeybee (G3) at Oaklawn Park, but Good Cheer is a more proven commodity at this stage.

The Brad Cox-trained daughter of Medaglia d’Oro is 3-for-3 at Churchill Downs, recording a sharp score in the Golden Rod (G2) to conclude her juvenile campaign, and Good Cheer returned in fine fettle Saturday.

AA: With regard to Kentucky Oaks potential, it's between Good Cheer and Muhimma but the slight edge goes to Good Cheer at the moment. The Godolphin homebred is now unbeaten from five career starts, and on Saturday she secured a 6 1/4-length victory after enduring some adversity around the far turn, needing to await racing room before drawing off under mild urging from regular rider Luis Saez. The Medaglia d'Oro filly out of a Street Sense mare recorded an 89 BRIS figure in her three-year-old debut, and Saez said after the race, "if [he] had let Good Cheer really run, she would have won by more," but he wanted to "save her for the big races." Among Good Cheer's five career victories, three have come beneath the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs, including a 4 3/4-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Rags to Riches and a 2 1/2-length tally in the Golden Rod (G2).

In all, Brad Cox has seven fillies with points on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard, but the other main Oaks contender is Muhimma, a daughter of Munnings who is unbeaten from three starts, including a one-length win in the 1 1/8-mile Demoiselle (G2) at Aqueduct. The Shadwell Stable color bearer won her first two starts at Churchill in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight and a seven-furlong allowance optional claimer. She will make her sophomore debut Sunday at Oaklawn Park in the 1 1/16-mile Honeybee (G3), which drew a field of 13. Her next showing will tell us a lot about whether there's much separation between her and Good Cheer.

What else caught your eye?

JS: I liked the stakes wins by Hall of Fame (Mineshaft [G3]) and Nanda Dea (Al Stall Memorial); both have a shot to make an impact in their respective divisions but will highlight a trio of first-out sophomore maiden winners.

Velvet Vortex didn’t disappoint as the favorite in the fourth race, wearing down stubborn pacesetter Velvet Devil to score by three-quarters of a length. By Complexity, the Brax Cox-trained filly showed good speed from the gate, prompting fast opening splits, and Velvet Vortex registered an excellent 95 Brisnet Speed rating after completing six furlongs in 1:09.86.

Velvet Devil is also one to watch moving forward. After displaying high speed from the innermost post in her Jan. 20 debut, Velvet Devil wound up a respectable second. And considering Michael Tomlinson wins at only a 4% clip first-time out with three-year-olds since 2019 (2-for-54), it was no surprise to see Velvet Devil improve at second asking, giving Velvet Vortex all she could handle before finishing second. It was nearly nine lengths back to third, and Velvet Devil registered an encouraging 93 Speed rating. 

Ahavah didn’t run as fast as Velvet Vortex two races later, but the daughter of City of Light took serious pressure on the front end and proved game turning back the challenge from runner-up Unwavering Trust, prevailing by 1 1/2 lengths. A half-sister to Grade 1-winning sprinter Vahva, Ahavah is a candidate to keep improving for Cherie DeVaux off a courageous debut win. And don’t dismiss Unwavering Trust, a first-time starter by Nyquist for Cox who wound up nearly 10 lengths clear of third.

Retribution prevailed a few races later, and while his final time came back slower than Velvet Vortex and Ayhavah, he traveled wide the entire way over a track that appeared to favor inside paths. Breaking from the far outside post, the Vekoma colt stalked up close before launching a sweeping move into the stretch, overtaking Valiant Humor (2-1 favorite) and Kalahari Dreams (5-2 second choice), who were both on inside paths but proved no match for the DeVaux-trained Retribution, who drove clear to score by 1 1/4 lengths.

AA: Another filly to watch on the Oaks trail is Pretty Sassy, yet another Godolphin homebred and a half-sister to 2023 Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous, who was likewise trained by Brendan Walsh before connections opted to retire her in August of 2024. On Saturday at Fair Grounds, Pretty Sassy made her third career start in a 1 1/16-mile allowance optional claimer, where she faced Cox filly California Sunset and stakes-placed Trust Fund Philly. Returning off a 7 1/2-length maiden conquest at the same track, in her first start at a route, Pretty Sassy raced at the same distance on Saturday with a similar stalking trip, but she had to find a hole late between horses and was able to run on determinedly to get up by a head at the wire. Walsh spoke with TwinSpires following the race Saturday and said he thought Pretty Sassy ran great considering what she had to overcome as a green filly. When comparing Pretty Sassy to her sister Pretty Mischievous, he noted the former is not quite as advanced physically but is starting to come along, and suggested "maybe she'll outdo her sister" if she continues to progress.