Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes, 1 1/16  miles, Fair Grounds, Feb. 22 (50 Derby eligibility points to the winner, 20 for second, 10 for third, 5 for fourth) After three straight third- or fourth-place finishes in Grade 2 stakes against the likes of Cairo Prince and Honor Code at Gulfstream Park and Aqueduct, Intense Holiday apparently got the class relief he needed here. Rallying in spots under Mike Smith who had to navigate through and around traffic, Intense Holiday was still seventh on the final turn, moved past Rise Up in the upper stretch, and continued resolutely to pass Vicar’s In Trouble and catch front-running Albano by a nose on the wire. This was an improved performance and something for trainer Todd Pletcher to build upon should Intense Holiday go on to face stronger in the $1 million Louisiana Derby on March 29. With the 50 Derby eligibility points he earned here, the son of Harlan’s Holiday now has 53 total points, probably enough to make the 20-horse limit allowed in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. [ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays] Albano’s moderate fractional splits for the 1 1/16-mile distance were 24.30 for the quarter, 48.14 for the half, six furlongs in 1:13, and a mile in 1:37.42 before Intense Holiday caught him in 1:43.86, with a good final sixteenth-mile burst. Each horse earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure. Albano previously had won the six-furlong Super Bowl Stakes over the track on Dec. 21 and was a pace-chasing second by 6 3/4 lengths to Vicar’s In Trouble in the Grade 3 Lecomte Jan. 18. Albano now has 24 points. The lukewarm betting favorite at 2.40-1, Vicar’s In Trouble finished third, 5 1/2 lengths behind the top pair, to earn 10 more Derby eligibility points. While soundly beaten, he deserves some credit for breaking from a tough outer post and making a good bid in midstretch. Vicar’s In Trouble now has 20 points. The Bob Baffert trained Hoppertunity could only pass tiring horses to finish fourth, seven lengths behind the top two, and Gold Hawk, who was third in the Lecomte, raced evenly to finish fifth, a length behind Hoppertunity. Rise Up, making his first start since the Delta Jackpot in November and hard to control early, moved up to challenge Albano approaching the backstretch. While he continued to attend the pace to the final turn, Rise Up steadily retreated thereafter to finish seventh, beaten 13 1/2 lengths. He came into this race with only four well-spaced workouts and might have needed the effort to get back to his best form. Beyond the winner’s improvement, the gritty effort by Albano, the fair third-place finish by Vicar’s In Trouble, and the possibility that Rise Up needed the race, none of the other 10 who competed made a positive impression. All will need major improvement to stay on the Triple Crown chase. Next week: Grade 3, $500,000 Gotham Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Aqueduct, March 1