Badge Of Silver Wins the Risen Star Stakes

The winner of last year’s Kentucky Derby came out of the Risen Star Stakes -- War Emblem was a badly beaten sixth in the Fair Grounds race, 10 weeks before his longshot victory at Churchill Downs.

Indy Dancer, previously undefeated and favored to win Sunday’s running of the Risen Star at New Orleans, was also well-beaten, finishing seventh, almost 20 lengths back of the winner. That winner, Badge Of Silver, stayed unbeaten, rolling to his third straight win by 10 lengths in a time of 1:42.99. Badge Of Silver missed the stakes record -- set by Zarb’s Magic in 1996 -- for 1 1/16 miles by just one-hundredth of a second.

Badge Of Silver, trained by Ronny Werner and ridden by Robby Albarado, will stay in New Orleans to run in the $750,000 Louisiana Derby on March 9.

Saintly Look battled Badge Of Silver for the lead down the backstretch, but after Albarado’s colt disposed of that rival nearing the quarter pole, the race was over. Lone Star Sky finished second, three-quarters of a length in front of Defrere’s Vixen. Prince Alphie was fourth and Saintly Look fifth. Indy Dancer’s outside post position in the 13-horse field appeared to serve as no excuse.

Badge Of Silver, an $85,000 yearling purchase, won his debut at 4 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland in April, but then underwent surgery for a cracked cannon bone. The son of Silver Deputy and Silveroo took the rest of the year off to recuperate before returning to action with a six-furlong win at the Fair Grounds last month. Badge Of Silver has now won his three starts by a combined 26 lengths.

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