by Steve Bailey

Clarence Scharbauer’s Indygo Mountain has rebounded from a minor injury and is ready to open his sophomore season against eight fellow three-year-olds in the $100,000 Lecomte Stakes (G3) on Saturday at Fair Grounds.

The A. P. Indy colt was scratched during the post parade of an allowance race on December 18 at Fair Grounds due to a minor foot problem. He has had a pair of workouts since then, including a five-furlong breeze on Monday morning in the slop at the New Orleans track, covering the distance in 1:03.40.

Trained by Bret Calhoun, Indygo Mountain finished second in his career debut in a seven-furlong maiden special weight race on October 15 at Keeneland Race Course and followed that up with a 6 1/4-length victory in a one-mile maiden special weight race on November 19 at Churchill Downs.

Indygo Mountain, who will be ridden by Jamie Theriot, was installed as the 3-to-1 morning-line favorite ahead of John G. and Glen Sikura’s and Dominic Dilalla’s Patena, the 4-to-1 second choice in the field of nine.

Patena, a bay Seeking the Gold colt out of the A.P. Indy mare Handpainted, enters off back-to-back victories at Woodbine for trainer Josie Carroll, including the Display Stakes on December 6.

Also entered are Vinery Stables’ and Fox Hill Farm’s Friesan Fire, who placed third in the Futurity Stakes (G2) on September 13 at Belmont Park and who won one of four starts in 2008, and Uno Mas, a Steve Asmussen-trained Macho Uno colt who has two wins and two seconds from five starts and enters off back-to-back victories at Fair Grounds.

Friesan Fire and Uno Mas each were installed at 5-to-1 on the morning line and will be ridden by Gabriel Saez and Shaun Bridgmohan, respectively.

Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times