Five Star General has made himself at home in racing jurisdictions throughout North America and on Saturday night the Grade 3 winner returns to Opelousas, La., to defend his title in the $100,000 Evangeline Downs Mile. “He’s been able to take his track wherever he needs to go,” said trainer Grant Forster. The Evangeline Mile is for 4-year-olds and up and is one of two stakes on the card. The $60,000 Lafayette for 3-year-olds at six furlongs drew a diverse field that includes multiple stakes winner Sweet Soddy J. Five Star General is in from Fair Grounds, his latest base during a career in which he’s won 11 races from 34 starts for earnings of $684,429. The 8-year-old is a Kentucky-bred son of Distorted Humor. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “He’s just an amazing throwback horse,” said Forster, who trains Five Star General for Kenneth Alhadeff. “He so sound and so tough and he just absolutely loves to run – whether it’s training, racing, whatever it is, he just absolutely loves his job. “It’s a pretty amazing form he’s got, having won at Laurel and Aqueduct as a 2-year-old, then racing in the Pacific Northwest, and now, having won at Keeneland and Evangeline Downs and Fair Grounds. So, there’s not too many horses in the history of racing that have won races at all the tracks he’s won at. He’s just been a dream horse. Our goal is to try and get back and defend our title in the Longacres Mile this summer at Emerald Downs.” Five Star General is part of a full field of 10 in the Evangeline Mile, with French Composer on the also-eligible list. The group includes Wildatlanticstorm, who is stretching back out around two turns in search of his third straight win, and Eyeing Clover, who is moving back to the two-turn configuration. Five Star General won his sixth career stakes race in December, in the Tenacious at Fair Grounds. The Evangeline Mile will be his first start since Jan. 20, when he was fourth in the Grade 3 Louisiana, also run in New Orleans. “We gave him a little designed break after his last race,” Forster said. “We sent him up to the farm at Clear Creek Stud there in Louisiana for a little quick freshening, with this as our target, and he came back and every step has gone smoothly.” Marcelino Pedroza Jr. has the mount on Five Star General from post 8. “He’s going to be forwardly placed, but he certainly doesn’t need the lead,” Forster said. “He’s not one that won’t run his race if he doesn’t get the lead or anything like that. “It’s going to be an interesting riders’ race. It’s not a huge run to that first turn and with a big field like it’s going to be, and some pace to our outside and inside, we’ll leave things up to Marcelino. He knows the horse really well, rode a brilliant race when winning the Tenacious.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.