Enforceable Puts It All Together For Lecomte Victory

A very well-bred but slow-developing son of Tapit, John Oxley’s Enforceable put all the pieces together for a 1 1/2-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes at the Fair Grounds. The 3-year-old colt, a full brother to Mohaymen and a half-brother millionaire New Year’s Day, was the third winner on the card for trainer Mark Casse and jockey Julien Leparoux.

Settling near the rear of the field and taking over in mid-stretch, the 6-1 chance Enforceable ran 1 1/16 miles over the fast main track in 1:43.72. The victory earns him 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Enforceable broke a bit flat-footed and was second-last entering the clubhouse turn, but a hot pace set up well for the late-running colt. Bango and Shashashakemeup were the quickest early on, a half-length apart through early fractions of :23.46 and :47.41. Mr. Monomoy, the half-brother to champion Monomoy Girl, was also up close early, settling in fourth for the run up the backstretch.

Shashashakemeup took command mid-way through the far turn, but Enforceable had moved to within six lengths of the leaders and had plenty left in the tank for the stretch. Leparoux guided him to clear running in the center of the track and Enforceable took off, easily running down the brief leader Mr. Monomoy and pulling away to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Silver State was moving well late to nip Mr. Monomoy for second, while the one-eyed Finnick the Fierce made up ground late to finish fourth.

Bred in Kentucky by Clearsky Farms, Enforceable is out of Justwhistledixie, a G1-placed and multiple G2-winning daughter of Dixie Union. He was a $775,000 RNA at the Keeneland September sale, and made an early debut in May at Churchill Downs, running second in his first start. Enforceable broke through in his fourth career start, then added a third in the G1 Breeders’ Futurity and a fourth in the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club to close out his juvenile campaign. The Lecomte victory improves the colt’s overall record to 2-1-2 from seven starts for earnings of over $320,000.