Lone Star Derby

The Lone Star Derby should benefit from the overflow in Kentucky. In fact, it already has.

My Pal Charlie, the Louisiana Derby runner-up, ranks 28th in graded earnings among the horses queuing up for the Kentucky Derby, and so his trainer, Al Stall Jr., said today that he’s now looking to Texas. In other words, My Pal Charlie will make his next start May 10 in the Lone Star Derby.

I first saw the handsome colt in the paddock at Fair Grounds prior to the Louisiana Derby. I was there primarily to see Pyro and Tale of Ekati and Majestic Warrior. Frankly, I hadn’t given My Pal Charlie a moment’s consideration. After all, he never had run in a stakes race and had just scored his maiden victory six weeks earlier. And if I had given him even a moment’s thought, I must have quickly forgotten him, because when he strolled into the paddock, poised and balanced and glimmering, I looked over at Bob Fortus, the terrific turf writer for the Times-Picayune, and said, “Who is that?”

He told me. But a few moments later I supplied the answer myself. When My Pal Charlie finished second, I said, “That’s that good-looking Indian Charlie colt.”

Anyway, Stall told me the colt’s even better looking now, having put on a little weight and matured somewhat. In his last outing, the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, My Pal Charlie finished fifth, 7 3/4 lengths behind Gayego.

“It wasn’t a bad race,” Stall said about the colt’s effort in Arkansas, “but I thought he would run better than that. He just didn’t step forward like we needed him to.”

But he could be ready to step forward soon, Stall said, because My Pal Charlie has trained well since his sojourn to Arkansas. Lone Star and its Derby should suit him perfectly, Stall said. A New Orleans native, Stall has raced frequently at Lone Star over the years. He said he’ll be very happy to return to Texas and take the road less traveled, which could prove to be very lucrative and rewarding for a horse such as My Pal Charlie.