Roiland the pick in Lecomte for January Road to the Derby Bonus Cash

A reminder to those that opted in to TwinSpires.com's Road to the Derby Bonus Cash offer at the start of the year that Saturday's $200,000 Lecomte (G3) [Click for FREE Brisnet past performances] at Fair Grounds requires a $20 Win bet for bonus eligibility to continue. Wet weather is forecast and a couple scratches will reportedly occur, but the Lecomte is still expected to have a field of roughly 12 starters, making it an excellent betting race with no standout. Tactical foot over a potential wet track could be helpful, which is why I like the "blinkers on" move for #7 ROILAND (12-1) by trainer Tom Amoss. The son of Successful Appeal has been generally fine with off-the-pace rallies, which might be the preferred strategy in this field with enough speedy types, but not getting too far out of it in such conditions might enhance his chances. Collecting one win and losing another race narrowly in a pair of sprints at Indiana Grand to start his career, Roiland upset an allowance field going 1 1/16 miles at Churchill on October 28, beating Limonite by a neck at odds of 28-1. That rival came back to run a nice third in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), while a slow start and a late inside rally from Roiland was only good enough for a fifth-place try in the slop. Recent works over the Fair Grounds strip by Roiland have been strong: a half-mile in :48 and five-furlong moves in a bullet :59 2/5 and another in 1:00 3/5. He picks up Fair Grounds' current leading rider, James Graham, for the Lecomte. Though Roiland is the longshot pick for the Lecomte, Road to the Derby Bonus Cash players can get money back on their individual $20 Win play if their selection earns Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points via a top-four finish. The bonus cash available is $10 for first, $4 for second, $2 for third, and $1 for fourth. The Road to the Derby Bonus Cash offer for January concludes next Friday with the $150,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park. Photo: Roiland (c) Coady Photography/Churchill Downs