NEW ORLEANS (AP) -A rainy day and sloppy track did nothing to snuff out Friesan Fire's recent run of dominance.
Surging ahead down the stretch, Friesan Fire left the field in his muddy wake to win the $600,000 Louisiana Derby by more than seven lengths on Saturday and solidify his credentials as a top contender for the Kentucky Derby.
The favorite at a little more than 2-1, Friesan Fire pulled into the lead coming out of the final turn at the Fair Grounds Race Course to complete a sweep of his first three starts as a 3-year-old.
``We're improving every race,'' Friesan Fire's trainer, Larry Jones, said by phone from Oaklawn Park. ``He's getting good at the right time.''
With a laugh, Jones joked that Friesan Fire ``could have run much better if I was there.''
Maybe not. Jones was at Oaklawn to watch another of his Kentucky Derby hopefuls, Old Fashioned, run the Rebel Stakes. But Old Fashioned faded in the Rebel and finished second to 50-1 long shot Win Willy.
Friesan Fire, meanwhile, came into the Louisiana Derby off wins in the Lecomte and Risen Star stakes at the Fair Grounds earlier this year, making him the first horse ever to win three graded stakes races in one Fair Grounds meet. All three victories came under jockey Gabriel Saez, who kept the colt near the front and out of trouble until he began to challenge for the lead at the end of the back stretch.
``I got him right behind the leaders,'' Saez said. ``He was very relaxed. When I made my move, he just exploded.''
Friesan Fire covered the 1 1/16-mile race distance in 1:43.46 and paid $6.40, $4.20 and $3 in what was the first Louisiana Derby triumph for either Jones or Saez.
Papa Clem, the early pacesetter, was second and paid $4.80 and $4.20. Terrain finished third and paid $5.20, with other Derby hopefuls Giant Oak winding up fourth and Patena eighth in the nine-horse field.
It was the first race on dirt for Papa Clem, who flew in from California, where he'd raced only on synthetic tracks.
``He was really comfortable through the race,'' Papa Clem jockey Rafael Bejarano said. ``I am very pleased with his progression and I think he liked the surface.''
Initially, 10 horses entered the race, but Nowhere to Hide was scratched. More was expected of Patena, who finished second in the Lecomte and was later bought by IEAH Stables and handed over to trainer Rick Dutrow, who also trains 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown.
Patena came in with no race experience on a sloppy track, however, and jockey Robby Albarado was helpless to stop him from fading.
``He just didn't fire,'' Albarado said.
Flying Pegasus, which had finished second in the Risen Star, also struggled and wound up sixth.
Earlier at the Fair Grounds, Calvin Borel rode Rachel Alexandra ($2.60) to an early lead and held on for a comfortable victory over Flying Spur in the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks; 10-1 long shot Macho Again ($23.60) stormed past Secret Getaway down the stretch in the $500,000 New Orleans Handicap; and Proudinsky ($8.80) captured the $500,000 Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap on the turf for a second straight year, edging Nownownow and El Caballo in a photo finish.
