THE Grade 2 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby was the only Kentucky Derby trial in the US last weekend and, with no dominant three-year-old so far emerging, this was another closely-fought finish.

Chad Brown struck again at Fair Grounds by taking the track’s richest race, worth $1 million, with Klaravich Stables’ Emerging Market.

Emerging Market, a son of Candy Ride under Flavien Prat, needed the length of the stretch to wear down Doug O’Neill’s pacesetting Pavlovian. He finished a head in front on the line and maintained a two- from-two race record. Lecomte Stakes winner Golden Tempo, with blinkers for the first time, was a length back in third.

“He fought hard. It was a good run, very professional. When I turned for home, I thought I would win easily, but Pavlovian gave us a good challenge,” Prat said. He is not yet a certain Derby runner, but has enough points to qualify.

The Grade 3 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park gave another win to the seven-year-old Skippylongstocking.

Making his first start since earning his first Grade 1 triumph in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, the Saffie Joseph Jr-trained Skippylongstocking showed he will be a force to be reckoned with throughout the entire season, with an emphatic win in the $500,000 contest.

Carrying top weight and giving 6lb and 7lb to his rivals, the seven-year-old son of Exaggerator starred for the Oaklawn Park crowd with a five-and-a-quarter-length dominating victory from Mackman, as a short-priced favourite.

Theme

Older horses are the current theme on the flat and the Irish-bred eight-year-old Gold Phoenix continues to top the ranks in the long-distance turf division in Southern California.

Rebounding from a seventh-place finish in the San Marcos Stakes over 10 furlongs, the veteran campaigner returned to form when stretched out to 12 furlongs, outrunning Flashiest and Mondego in the Grade 3 San Luis Rey Stakes at Santa Anita Park.

The Philip D’Amato-trained campaigner came from from seventh with a bid on the final turn and Gold Phoenix surged three wide under Hector Berrios and gradually wore down Flashiest by three-quarters of a length.

The San Luis Rey was the 11th victory in 31 starts for Gold Phoenix, and his ninth at the graded level. He has won the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap four times.