Built Aims to Build on Derby Trail Success in Lecomte

The 3-year-old Hard Spun   colt bred by Robert and Lawana Low introduced himself to the general racing audience with a dominant 6 3/4-length frontrunning triumph in the Dec. 21 Gun Runner Stakes, netting 10 Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points.The scintillating victory in his first start around two turns off a 2 1/2-month layoff surprised even his trainer, Wayne Catalano.

“We thought he was going to run good, but probably not that good,” Catalano said. “He was doing good and had a lot of time between the races.”

Video: Gun Runner S. (BT)

The colt has continued to train well in the month since and Catalano believes that the ability shown in the Gun Runner is here to stay.

The race may set up differently this time for Built, who only faced four rivals in the Gun Runner and was allowed to set tepid fractions of :24.64, :49.23, and 1:13.77 for the 1 1/16-mile distance. The pace competition will likely increase this time with a full 14-horse gate, but Catalano is confident that his colt will adjust from post 13.

“He’s got good enough speed that he can break. (Jockey Jareth Loveberry) can go in and kind of look everything over and see what he needs to do,” Catalano said. “He can come from off of it like he did when he won the time before (in an Oct. 6 seven-furlong Keeneland maiden race). He’ll come from off the pace a little bit.”

A solid performance Saturday is crucial for Built and his competitors as the Lecomte is the first race in the second series of the Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races; the Top 5 finishers receiving qualifying points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale. Twenty points for Built would elevate him to second place on the leaderboard with a total of 30.

“Obviously the young horses, when they’re running good and peak, that’s what we’re all in the game for: winning these big races,” Catalano said. “It would be a blessing to run two big races going into, hopefully, the Kentucky Derby down the road.”