Racing Dudes Three Stars of the Week: Party on the Bayou

Action in the horse racing world pressed on last weekend with Fair Grounds hosting their biggest day of racing and Santa Anita Park, Oaklawn Park, and Gulfstream Park also producing strong results. In the end, Fair Grounds produced all of our latest Three Stars of the Week. Let’s take a look at the order: 

1. Wells Bayou 

You can add another horse to Florent Geroux’s growing list of Kentucky Derby candidates after he piloted Wells Bayou to a wire-to-wire victory in the Louisiana Derby (G2) last Saturday. As usual, Geroux got the horse rolling right out of the gate, sending him to the front where he secured a comfortable lead. Turning for home, the horse still had plenty of run left and no horse behind him was making up ground. He hit the wire 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Ny Traffic, who had tracked him in second throughout. The victory secures his spot in the Derby starting gate, and with plenty of races for him to still target before that event. 

2. By My Standards 

This horse looks ready to have a big season ahead after a dominating victory in the New Orleans Classic (G2). Last year, he won the Louisiana Derby (G2) in impressive fashion, but an injury following the Kentucky Derby (G1) forced him to miss the rest of the year. He looks like a beast in 2020, though, after his second straight dominating victory. In the New Orleans Classic, he stalked the early pace before turning for home looking loaded and ready to roll. He easily passed the front-running Silver Dust in the stretch, then held off all challengers for a 3-length victory. This is a horse to keep an eye on moving forward. 

3. Bonny South 

We had an upset in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) last Saturday when the Brad Cox-trained Bonny South stormed home with a last-to-first rally to win by 2 1/4 lengths. The race was supposed to run through Finite, who had won five straight, but she failed to hit board in this spot. Instead, it was Bonny South’s time to shine, giving Brad Cox and Florent Geroux a local Oaks/Derby Double. She has now earned her way into the Kentucky Oaks (G1) with this victory and has several other big races likely to appear on her calendar.