Vicar's in Trouble No Trouble in Lecomte

It’s been 27 years since a Louisiana-bred horse won the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. A Louisiana-bred has never won the Kentucky Derby. On Saturday, Vicar’s in Trouble accomplished the first and took a possible step toward the second, when he cruised to a seven-length win in the $200,000 Grade III Lecomte, run at 1 mile 70 yards on the Fair Grounds dirt track. With the win, Vicar’s in Trouble picked up 10 points toward a spot in the Kentucky Derby gate, as the race was run as part of the Derby’s Challenge Series.

Pulls away from the field when asked

Coming off a 13-length maiden win against state-breds in his second career start, Vicar’s in Trouble broke from the gate as second choice at 8-5 in the Lecomte under Rosie Napravnik and quickly rushed up to press the pace set by Roman Unbridled, kicking through the first quarter in 23.71 and the half in 47.80. Given a nudge midway through the second turn, he poked his head in front with a quarter-mile to go and then pulled away with ease, despite shying and coming out a bit in deep stretch.

Win also a step to Louisiana Derby

Despite gearing down through a relatively slow final quarter of 25.25, Vicar’s in Trouble still managed to claim a legitimate place among his three-year-old rivals by running a Beyer figure of 97, the highest of eleven previous Derby Challenge race winners. Finishing second in the Lecomte was Albano, who had previously won the Sugar Bowl Stakes at Fair Grounds, while 7-5 favorite Gold Hawk, previously two-for-two at the races, was third. With the win, Vicar’s in Trouble not only puts himself in the Derby equation, he also earns a shot at the Grade I Louisiana Derby at the end of March.